In Northeast, Ohio and Erie, PA, our winters can seem like they go on forever, keeping us from enjoying our outdoor entertaining space and leaving us looking for new ways to amuse ourselves and our family. Have no fear, as we have reviewed before, you can beat the winter blues by having a game room in your home. Today, we are going to dive in a little deeper to one of the more common game tables in a game room, and break down how you can improve your ping pong skills this winter.
What is Ping Pong?
Before we start reviewing ways for you to master your ping pong skills this winter, we want to provide a brief overview of what ping pong, sometimes referred to as table tennis, is. If you already have a ping pong table in your home, you likely are familiar with the game; however, if you are on the fence about adding one, this may enlighten you.
Ping pong is a game/sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as a ping pong ball, back and forth across a table using small rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce once on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side of the table at least once. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules.
Basically, table tennis is very similar to regular tennis, only it is played in a smaller space and utilizes a ping pong table and paddles.
Tips to Improve your Ping Pong Skills This Winter
Ping pong, has been a popular sport all over the world for a long time. In fact, it has been a highly competitive sport in Asian countries, and the popularity of its competitiveness is making its way around the world. Our Northeast Ohio and Erie, PA winters make the perfect time to perfect your ping pong skills, so when you challenge your friends and family to a game, you can impress them with your new abilities.
Let’s review some tips for you to improve your game.
- Learn the Basics: You can’t start perfecting your skills, until you first know and understand the basics about ping pong. When learning the fundamentals of playing table tennis, there are several things to consider. These can include your grip on the paddle, your stance at the table, your footwork during the game, and your serve. Other things that you’ll want to master include perfecting your forehand drive, backhand drive, backhand push, forehand push, and returning the serve.
- Understand and Embrace the Spin: You can improve your game by not only understanding the spin, but mastering it yourself. Monitor your opponent’s paddle and watch how they send the ball over the net. If they move their paddle from low to high, then the spin of the ball will be a topspin. If they move the paddle from right to left, then the spin of the ball will be a left side spin. Understanding the spin of the ball helps you to understand your opponent’s strategy with each serve. This will improve your game as you’ll know where and how to hit the ball back and you can use some of their moves in your own game.
- Practice: This should go without saying, but the more you practice, the more you’ll understand how each of your strokes feel and learn what works best for you. You can practice alone or recruit another family member to hit the ball back and forth with you. Be wise when selecting your partner. Ideally, the right partner will match your skills. You’ll want to find a partner that has the same overall goals as you so that you can work together on improving your game and provide each other with tips and suggestions.
While you may not become a professional ping pong player over the winter, it will give you something to do and should keep you entertained. Next time you host an event in your game room, you can put your newfound skills to work and showoff your moves to your friends and family.
Litehouse Pools & Spas has game tables for your Northeast Ohio and Erie, PA home. We have ping pong tables and accessories. Keep yourself and your family entertained in the colder months, by mastering your ping pong skills this winter.