Adjusting Backspin When
Learning To Loop
By
Larry Thoman
Question:
How much backspin
do you recommend to put on the ball so that I am able to practice
looping off of backspin?
Answer:
When learning
to loop backspin, I would suggest the following settings in progression:
- Head angle "C", Ball Speed 2.75. Ball should bounce on robot's
side of table first, clear the net by about 2 inches, and then
land about a foot or foot and a half from your end of the table.
- Head angle "F", Ball Speed 3. Ball should clear net by 8 to
12 inches and land about a foot from the end of the table. Ball
lands first on player's side of the net.
- Head angle "E", Ball Speed 4. Ball should clear net by 1 to
2 inches and land about a foot from the end of the table. Ball
lands first on player's side of the net.
Be sure you can consistently loop the ball at each setting
before trying to use the next setting. Setting 3 simulates a hard
driving heavy chop return of a good loop. Setting 1 simulates a
long low chop serve. Also please realize that these settings will
vary slightly from robot to robot so start with these suggested
settings and then modify from there.
Another setting you may want to try after level 3 is to take
the robot off the table, set it on the ground or a Robo-Caddy about
8 to 10 feet in back of the table and have it deliver backspin balls
from this distance. You'll have to experiment to get the exact head
angle/ball speed settings but you want the balls to land close to
your endline. This is a better simulation of a typical return by
a chopper, but you lose the ball catching ability of the net system.
Good luck!
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