USA Table Tennis

Beginning Class Primer

For Promoters and Coaches Who Wish to Set Up or Teach Beginning Classes

By Larry Hodges

You can get more information on Club Programs at the USATT Club Programs Page at www.usatt.org/club_programs.

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Contents

Why a Beginning Class?

This is the ultimate "win-win" program. Everybody wins!

Most clubs get occasional new players who come in, get killed by more experienced players (or are ignored by these experienced players, who don't want to play beginners), and so never show up again. The new player cannot neither perform nor understand the basics of the game, and has no peers to play against. How do we solve this problem?

You get 15-20 potential new players together for a 10-week class, meeting once a week for 90 minutes. Each student pays $100. By the end of the 10 weeks, the new players have an understanding of the game, can perform the basics, and – most important – have their own peer group: the other members of the class.

Result? New club members and new USATT members. The new player wins, the club wins, and USATT wins.

But these are not the biggest winners. The biggest winner is the coach/promoter who promotes and teaches the class. (And this could be you!) Remember those 20 students paying $100 for 10 weeks? That's $10 each per night, or $200 per night. The coach may hire two assistant coaches to help out (usually club members, not coaches – the assistants help out, but don't have to do any public speaking or organizing) and pay them $20 each. That leaves $160 for the coach/promoter for 90 minutes of work! (Not to mention a resource for getting private students, if the coach wishes.)

I recommend that 15% of the fees go to the club, so (with 20 students) the club gets $30 each class, the two assistants get $20 each, while the head coach/promoter gets $130 (assuming 20 students).

With 15 students, and one assistant coach, there would be $150 coming in each class. Club would get about $23; assistant coach would get $20. This would leave $107 for the head coach/promoter!

Even with just 8 students (no assistant coach), there would be $80 coming in. $12 of this would go to the club, leaving $68 for the head coach/promoter. Still not bad for 90 minutes!

Here's a chart showing the income for various numbers of students. This assumes one person does both the promoting and coaching, i.e. the "Head Coach." It also assumes a ratio of one coach for every eight players.

# of Students

Nightly Income

Club's 15% Fee

Ass't Coach Fees

Coach/ Promoter Fee

4

$40

$6.00

$0

$34.00

5

$50

$7.50

$0

$42.50

6

$60

$9.00

$0

$51.00

7

$70

$10.50

$0

$59.50

8

$80

$12.00

$0

$68.00

9

$90

$13.50

$20

$56.50

10

$100

$15.00

$20

$65.00

11

$110

$16.50

$20

$73.50

12

$120

$18.00

$20

$82.00

13

$130

$19.50

$20

$90.50

14

$140

$21.00

$20

$99.00

15

$150

$22.50

$20

$107.50

16

$160

$24.00

$20

$116.00

17

$170

$25.50

$40

$104.50

18

$180

$27.00

$40

$113.00

19

$190

$28.50

$40

$121.50

20

$200

$30.00

$40

$130.00

21

$210

$31.50

$40

$138.50

22

$220

$33.00

$40

$147.00

23

$230

$34.50

$40

$155.50

24

$240

$36.00

$40

$164.00

Should the head coach/promoter get paid this much? Definitely. Without him, there is no class. It is this huge financial incentive that make the idea of teaching these classes attractive to coaches all over the country. (If one person does the promoting, and another does the coaching, than they might have to work out another financial arrangement.)

Are You Qualified to Teach a Beginning Class?

Let's be realistic. To a beginning player, a 1200 player looks like a star. A 1500 player is incredible. So, if you are an established player, your playing level alone is impressive to new players, and in their mind, gives you all the credentials you need.

The person who will teach the class does not need any coaching experience. What he needs is the proficiency to demonstrate the basic shots, and knowledge of the basic strokes. There are a number of books on table tennis that can help out in this regard. Or contact USATT (719-866-4583 or admin@usatt.org for information on becoming a certified coach, if you aren't one already. USATT also has a manual called Instructor's Guide to Table Tennis, which you may consider ordering. It is also online and linked to the Club Programs Page at www.usatt.org/club_programs.

If you are a promoter looking to set up a class, but would prefer someone else coach it, you can get a complete listing of USATT coaches at the Club Programs Page at www.usatt.org/club_programs.

What follows is a step-by-step plan on starting up a Beginning Class. Let's get started!

Step One: Getting a Facility, Tables and Other Equipment

Ideally, you can teach the class at a local club, in return for a small fee and for bringing in new players. You can get a complete listing of USATT clubs at the Club Programs Page at www.usatt.org/club_programs. If you are thinking of starting your own club, the USATT's Club Handbook is also linked to the Club Programs Page.

If there isn't already a facility with tables for you to teach your class, then you're going to have to do some legwork to get one.

Get out the phone book and start out by contacting local recreation centers. (They may be listed under "community centers.") Local churches are also possibilities – for these, you might ask local players about possibilities.

Schools can be a great resource. A survey done by this author a number of years ago showed that about 1/3 of schools already have ping pong tables – and most of those schools had ping pong clubs. Find all the schools in your area with tables or clubs, and get in contact with them about coaching or using their facilities.

Balls are an ongoing expense, but you'll only need training balls, which are inexpensive. If you only do regular table play (i.e. no multiball training), then you won't need too many. If you use multiball training, you'll need about one to two gross per coach. Contact table tennis distributors about getting discounts. One way to get a good deal is to sell equipment from the manufacturer/distributor that gives or discounts the equipment for you. Most are willing to make deals if you become a distributor for them. (You might want to browse the list of USATT certified equipment dealers.)

Robots are valuable tools for coaches, and if possible you might consider buying or borrowing one for the class. They are very good for beginners to work on basic strokes. They are also useful in group training when you have an odd number of players. They are also a great attraction for junior players, who love to use them.

Step Two: Should You Hire an Assistant Coach?

You may need 1-2 assistant coaches or practice partners, depending on the number of players in the class. (You need to decide how many players you can have as a maximum, and stick to that. If you get too many, set up a second class.) The assistant coaches do not need to be regular coaches – just reasonably good players. The assistant coaches each get paid for their work, which comes out of the class fees.

I'd recommend paying the assistant coaches $15-20 per 90-minute session. I'd recommend having at least one coach for every eight players, but that's up to you.

Step Three: Create a Schedule

For a beginning class, I recommend 7-8:30pm once a week for ten weeks. Many clubs get busy around 8pm; if you are teaching the class at a club, perhaps teach it from 6:30-8:00pm, so the class is over when the regular club members are coming in. Or you might consider making it a one-hour class, so you can get it done during club hours, but before most of the regular club members come in.

I found it better to run the class during the week, i.e. not on Friday night or the weekend. Too many people are out of town or have other weekend activities.

Here is a sample schedule for a ten-week, 90 minutes/week beginning class, one which was used for years in Maryland.

You might try to schedule a USATT tournament at the end or near the end of the class, with a novice singles event for class participants. Or run a class tournament – perhaps make it a "Week 11," or simply rearrange the schedule so you can do this on the final week.

Step Four: Produce a Flyer

You will need to make lots of copies of the flyer. The flyer should specify that the class is for beginners or those who have not been in organized table tennis. I usually put the flyer on colored paper, to make it stand out.

The flyer should include the following information:

A sample Beginning Class Flyer is at the end of this Primer.

Step Five: Getting Students

Here are tried and successful ways of getting students for a Beginning Class.

A sample press release is at the end of this Primer.

Let's elaborate:

    1. Pick up the yellow pages from the phone book.
    2. Look up "newspapers," and make a list of the phone number of every local newspaper.
    3. Call every local newspaper, and ask for the email address and/or fax number for the calendar section of their newspaper.
    4. Send your press release to every newspaper in town.
    5. Make sure to send notice of your classes at least six weeks before the start of every new beginning class.
    6. Call the calendar sections the a few days later and make sure they will run your class notice in their calendar section. This is important.

Step Six: Teach the Class!

If you haven't taught table tennis before, and aren't sure how to coach each shot, contact USATT about getting a copy of the USATT Instructor's Guide. You can reach them at admin@usatt.org or 719-866-4583. Or you can print it out yourself – it is online and linked to the Club Programs Page at www.usatt.org/club_programs.

Here are a few hints on teaching a class. First, don't get too caught up with the idea of trying to make everyone a world-class player. Most are there not only to learn, but to have fun as well. Keep that in mind as you teach.

Some of the players will develop nice strokes, while others will have rather strange ones. If a player is resistant to change, work with him, and make the best of what he does.

There are three methods of practice you can use in teaching the class. I find the best is multiball, which most coaches are familiar with. (It is a technique whereby the coach hits balls rapidly from a box at the player.) You will need a bucket of balls (several, actually, since the helpers will also be feeding multiball). Divide the players into three groups (if you have three coaches/helpers), and take turns feeding multiball. Have the players rotate – one gets multiball, one or two pick up balls, and the rest either rest or practice on a separate table. Multiball is especially good when teaching a new stroke.

A second method is to have the coaches/helpers hit with each of the players.

A third method is to have the players mostly practice together. This is the easiest way, but is the least effective at the start as the players, at this level, simply can't rally effectively or consistently. They will learn much faster if hitting with an accomplished player who can adjust for their errors and keep the ball going at the same pace, same spot. Pushing is a good stroke to have the players hit among themselves, although the coaches/helpers should step in and hit with those who are having difficulty. Serve and receive practice can also be done among the players, with one player serving and catching the other's receive, or both players serving and catching the other's serve. Or, if you have enough balls and tables, let the players serve onto the floor and pick them up afterwards.

Here's a good plan for how to teach the class each week:

  1. Start off each week by asking if there are any questions from the previous week. On the first day, you might start off by having each of the players introduce themselves.
  2. Next, explain & demonstrate the items planned for that week's class.
  3. Ask if there are any questions
  4. Finally, send the players into groups (one per coach) to work on the techniques. The best way to do this is to give each player a number corresponding to a coach. If there are three coaches, everyone would be numbered one, two or three.
  5. If multiple techniques are being covered that day, you might want to have a second lecture, and two shorter sessions. Then rotate the groups.

Step Seven: Repeat!

Every time it gets easier! What I'd like to see is many clubs adopt a twice-a-year schedule: a 10-week class in the Spring (starting in April), and another in the Fall (starting in September).

Make sure to get contact info for everyone so you can send them info on future programs – classes, leagues or tournaments.

Sample Beginning Class Flyer

Beginning Table Tennis Class

at the

Maryland Table Tennis Center

18761-Q Frederick Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20879 • 301-519-8580

Dates:            10 Mondays, April 2 – June 4, 2001

Times:            7:00 – 8:30 PM

Fees:               $100/student. Make checks out to Larry Hodges.
                        Join USATT for an additional $30/year ($20 if under age 18), and get 6 copies of
                        their glossy bi-monthly magazine as well as information on tournaments, clubs and other info. 
                        It also allows you to join the USATT Rating System.

Coach:            Larry Hodges, USATT Certified Coach.
                        Assistant coaches may be hired, depending on turnout.

Items               The goal of the class is to teach the basics of table tennis.
Covered:         Techniques to be taught include the basic strokes, serve and return of serve, tactics, 
                         footwork and equipment.

Directions:      From the Beltway (495), take 270 North. Go to exit 11, Montgomery Village Ave. 
                         Drive 1/4 mile to first traffic light, Frederick Rd. (355), and turn left. 
                         Drive 1.1 miles and turn right at Econo Lodge sign (steep uphill). 
                         Go 100 yards until road dead ends, and turn left. 
                         Go 100 yards and take first left-hand turn into MDTTC parking lot.

More Info:       Contact Larry Hodges at [CONTACT INFO]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Participant's Name______________________________________ Date of Birth_____________

Address_______________________________________________________________________

Home Phone________________ Work Phone_________________ Email__________

I accept full responsibility for my participation. I relieve the coaches, directors, sponsors and any others involved in the class of any liability for injury, loss or damages.

Signature______________________________________________ Date____________________

                                         

Sample Press Release to Newspaper Calendar Sections

To:             Calendar section, Washington Post
From:         Larry Hodges, Maryland Table Tennis Center
Subject:      Beginning Table Tennis Class
Date:          January 1, 2001

Would it be possible to include the following in your Calendar Section? Thank you.

The Maryland Table Tennis Center in Gaithersburg, Md., will be holding a 10-week Beginning Table Tennis Class starting Monday, April 2. The class will be taught by Larry Hodges, a USATT Certified Coach. The class will cover the basics of table tennis, including the basic strokes, serve and return of serve, tactics, footwork and equipment. Fee is $100. For more information, contact Coach Hodges at 240-686-0127 or larry@larrytt.com.

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