Hello! I am Ebony one of the Co-Founders of the PingPongPye website. I have been playing table tennis for over 10 years now and recently started working through my coaching qualifications. Over the past 15 years or so I have learnt a lot and found unique techniques which work for me, that I will pass on to you!
The Impact Of Having a Coach
Growing up I loved sports, I used to participate in as much as I could, to the point where I was doing something every night. On Fridays, I would go to three different clubs after school. It was’t until I got a bit older than I narrowed down the sports I was playing in, here I took a keen interest in table tennis. This came from both my parents and grandparents because my dad and granddad both played the sport. The latter of the two even played at county level. Unfortunately, I never got to meet my granddad, but I still have all of his trophies and pictures to remember him by. Having these made me want to improve – maybe one day be as good as he was and represent my county.
From here I joined my first local club, it was just around the corner from me however, there were no coaches there and you just turned up to play against other people. This club was at a local church which had a lot of older people playing, it didn’t take long to realise that some of these players played alongside my granddad at county level. This further ignited the passion in me to make him proud and to get better. I spent about 5 years at this club, turning up every week and never saw much progress. I was still losing to all the players that were beating me when I first started. Even though, I could now hold rallies with people I was never in control and it never felt like I was going to win. This made me realise that something needed to change if I was going to improve and hope to play at county level.
I found another local club but this time there was a dedicated coach. Within weeks, I could see some improvement in my game and wanted to keep going. I was told about tournaments that take place across the country that I should enter. I still remember my first tournament to this day, I traveled across the country and stayed overnight ready to play prepared for a great day. I arrived at this competition where I found my group that had 2 other players in; I lost both games 3-0 and was traveling back home before 12 o’clock. Although some may find this disheartening, I didn’t. Rather than making me want to quit this only made me want to get better. I was determined that when I go to my next tournament I could take an end off someone or even beat them. I continued training at my new club, by the time I went to my next tournament I felt much more prepared – I came away as runner-up! This was all because I changed clubs and was now getting coached.
I continued training with the aim to one day match the level achieved by my granddad. This day finally came where I represented my counties B team. This was an amazing achievement for myself which I had been working towards for almost 8 years. What made this even more special, was that the day I played was also the birthday of my granddad, this made all the time and effort so worthwhile.
My Experience Of Coaching & Helping Others
I want to be able to help you with your progression. This could take the form of either preventing bad habits or supporting you by building on what you have already learnt.
I have had a few years of practice where I coached the development squad at Loughborough University. My first year I volunteered, doing one session every week. Over the year I realised that my coaching was working. I could see the difference in the play styles of those that came regularly. This made me want to coach more and help others to achieve their goals. Due to this, I offered to do the role full time and take on more sessions. The feedback, on my sessions, was very positive. Attendance was consistently high, having a full room of players every week right up until the end – this was never the case when they did not have an assigned coach. I enjoyed seeing them progress but more importantly, I could see them enjoying table tennis more and more as they improved. I would love to be able to share this with as many other players as I can.
My Goal Is To Help You Reach Your Potential
My goal for this website is to help you progress and reach your potential. I will do this by sharing my experiences of both being a player and a coach. I believe that you should be playing table tennis with passion and enjoy the sport. I hope I can share my passion with you to help you enjoy your time playing and see yourself progress.
If your goal is to be able to play with your mates and hit a ball or if it’s to play at county level or higher, then this website is for you! The content produced here will aid you in your development towards your goals.
If you ever have any questions feel free to leave them below, I will be more than happy to help you out. I look forward to hearing from you!
Ebony