Training drills with the pip?

Neil Naputo Asked 14 years ago

Hi coach Alois, my name is Neil, Im kinda dissapaointed with my performance from the U.S. Nationals, epecially playing the guys with junk rubbers(short/long) pips. I understand the only solution is to play and train with the guys who has long long pips.  Can you give me some more specific drills and incorporate this to my training, I usually have another paddle with long pips and me and my training partner will switch blades, would this help?

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Neil,

Yes the more training you can get against the long pips the better you will become.  Remember the number of balls you have hit against Normal rubber compared to the number of balls you have hit against long pips.

A simple drill I get players to practice is to serve with backspin and then attack the next ball.

I think it is also important to just push the ball around in training against thelong pips so you get a better feel for what is happening to the ball during a rally especially early on.

Practice also topspinning a lot of balls consistently onto the table again to get the feel of the effect of the rubber.

The bottom line though is that you just have t hit a lot more balls against the long pips. 

As disappointing as your results may feel, give yourself a chance to learn how to play against the rubber first.