After a break of almost 20 years, I am back playing table tennis again (and still just as badly!). A few coaching lessons and my playing has improved dramatically. Next step? Read a book on the subject.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it has improved my table tennis no end. I am an intermediate player and have been coached on a number of occasions. I recognise much of the same information in the book from some of my coaching sessions. So, in this regard, this book has provided useful additional information.
The book covers a wide range of topics and is pretty concise - in some sections, I can't help feeling tht it is a little too concise. However, this book is one in a series of sports guides and I suspect that the format of the series has dictated the layout and format of this book. One improvement to the format of the book would be the use of annotated diagrams to explain the different strokes rather than using a series of photographs. These strokes can often be difficult to describe in words and I think the use of diagrams would make them easier to understand. I am not sure that using photographs of different players has helped in conveying the different strokes (although it does illustrate the different playing styles).
A picture might be worth a thousand words, but an illustrated diagram is worth a thousand photographs. At least when trying to describe table tennis strokes! However, I suspect photographs are cheap to produce and are thus prefered by publishers.
All in all, a great book that has helped me improve by playing and understanding of the game. I am sure that I will come back to the book in the future and use it as a reference book. Recommended.
