Table Tennis

Reaction Time Training

Table tennis is an excellent way of improving your hand eye coordination. Regardless of your ability, not only does your ability to accurately track the ball improve, but the speed and accuracy of your neural processing develops as you adapt to your opponent’s game style.
The benefit of teaching predictive movements in any sport or academic field is what is known as a crossover effect. Children quickly learn the links between extremely subtle changes to their opponent’s movements, the way the bat is held, the speed of travels through the air, the angle which it strikes the ball. No conscious thought is required, as these processes are the brain adapting to managing vast amounts of data in an instant.
Table tennis would give players headaches and mental fatigue very quickly if your brain didn’t know how to automate and speed up the gathering, interpreting, processing and responding at the table tennis table. In fractions of second, what your eyes see is assessed and you return the ball. Even as you are responding, you begin to set up your next play. Your clever brain knows it can’t do two things equally well and fast enough, so it “chunks“ the processes. This means of doesn’t perform 20 processes in a sequence, but as a single action, such as “returning a backhand top spin.”

​Sport’s Secret To Learning Just About Anything

Whilst so much is happening in your brain, you probably are not aware of it. This is the “secret sauce” of teaching and learning. The reason you don’t realise the amount and complexity of what’s going on is the smile on your face and your concentration on winning the point.
Your brain’s working overtime, learning processes, systems and forming stronger neural links between the areas you are using. The links are long lasting and used in many other aspects of your life, such as your maths or language lessons, learning a musical instrument, even driving a car! Kids and adults alike like movement. Some of us are not ”exercise junkies” but laughter, fun and movement are all linked – chemically. The smile on your face when you are playing table tennis happens because of the production of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocins in the brain. 

​The impact of these chemicals, also called hormones, is to make you feel good. Along with the effect of more oxygen and the release of blood sugars to feed the muscles and the brain, you simply can’t play a game or sport without feeling good. It is not accidental that modern workplaces of company’s who are known for their innovation have games areas that feature table tennis tables.
If you become really good at table tennis, it takes much longer to ”lose” your skills. It is one of those sports that you may find yourself playing into your older years. You’ll finds tables on cruise ships, sports halls and all over Asia and the Americas. Children will readily play their elders, peers and neighbours. The caravan parks of the world will feature family championships, some continuing over years or even decades.
Whether you are the Dubbo or Mallacoota champion, breaking up your work day or sharing a late summer evening with Grandma, it is highly likely, over the course of your life, the benefits of table tennis will improve your physical, academic, work and family life.

How It will Benefit Your Child

The sport requires the player to be nimble-footed and a quick thinker. It encourages kids to strategize their moves, learn proper techniques, develop arm strength, and accuracy. It also helps in building muscle strength and improving cardiovascular fitness.