Unlike most table tennis clubs in the U.S., the center is geared towards practice and training only-with a major focus on multi-ball and robot training. My primary coaching focus is the development of young players; my goal, in part, is to introduce your son or daughter to the wonderful life sport of table tennis. There are a couple of myths I need to cover-so that you have a little better understanding about the sport and what your kid needs to have fun and develop in my program.

Myth #1:

Ping pong... If you grew up in America, you think of dinking a ball back in forth in your basement.

Table tennis is nothing like this-it is highly technical and requires amazing hand-eye coordination and a real level of physical fitness. As such, you should make sure your child has a new(er) pair of tennis shoes (lateral support) with laces that can be tied, a towel, a water bottle, a real paddle (more on this later) and-as they progress-extra shirts and towels when they (ahem) sweat!

Myth #2:

You don't really need a coach to learn how to play competitive table tennis.

This is like saying: you don't really need a coach to learn how to do gymnastics. All of those back flips-the kids just learn that automatically. No one thinks about the hours spent in a gym WITH A COACH doing the same drill over and over and over until the kid masters the skill of doing a back flip.

Or, the martial arts. Just send the kid into a tournament with no training or coaching and see what happens. They will end up with a broken leg!

Same with table tennis. There is no way on earth that kids can really learn a sport that requires tons of training and technique on their own. Multi-ball training-first developed by the Chinese (who own the sport of table tennis like Americans used to own basketball)-involves the feeding of thousands (if not millions!) of balls to the player-in order to develop proper footwork and stroke technique. Training like this with a coach allows a player to develop a million times faster.

In countries other than the U.S., table tennis coaches are integral to the development of players; kids are passed up through the ranks-learning the tricks of the game from master coaches-who know just about every tool and tactic necessary to develop a kid into a strong player. Teaching your kid the wrong way early on will only lead to massive growing pains later on-should your son or daughter want to play competitive table tennis on a high level.

I will lay a strong foundation of table tennis fundamentals from which you son or daughter grows into the sport at light speed. Much like chess or music, the skill level possible in table tennis with young people is amazing; even after a few weeks of training, you will begin to see a noticeable difference in the way they play the sport.

Myth #3:

I can buy my kid a paddle at Wal-Mart/Target or let him/her use grandpa's old paddle.

Please, please, please, please understand that the paddle rubbers needed to hit the ball 20 to 30 feet behind the table @ 100MPH plus are VERY special-and that in order for me to teach you son or daughter to enjoy table tennis-and learn how to really play-they MUST have a decent beginner paddle with a special high quality rubber. Period. No dinky outside paddles. I've learned from experience that this is the best way early on to develop players.

Myth #4:

Now that little Johnny/Jenny can beat me in table tennis, he or she is ready for the big time tournaments.

Well, yes and no. Tournaments can be a very positive experience-but, I think that in the early development years, there needs to be a much stronger focus on multi-ball training, game skill drills and reflex development. Kids need to spend a fair amount of time having fun and working on fundamental techniques before they jump into the tournament area.

*Coach Wolski uses Double Fish Balls and Double Fish Tables for junior training and development.