I spent five days in Girona and had hoped to play ping pong every day. There was a good looking club, the Tennis Taula Girona. I contacted them well in advance and it seemed like they had a group that I could sign up for the week. When it got closer, I was told that they had cancelled the group since there were not enough signups. I was very disappointed. After a series of emails where I tried to sign up for daily private lessons, they found an instructor for a private lesson on my last day. Oh well.
I went to a huge public gymnasium in Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
My teacher was the talented, charming, and multilingual Elisabeth Granados Artacho. She was a top player in her region for years but is now a teacher. She retired from competition sometime in her 30s. I think she is still in her 30s.
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| Elisabeth Granados Artacho, Mi Maestro de Tenis de Mesa |
The facility was fantastic and I really enjoyed the lesson especially since I hadn't played or exercised in two weeks. Specifics:
Just like every teacher, she saw me failing to reset after every shot. I seem to watch my shots and wait. I should be resetting. And like other teachers, she drilled me on short shots to be sure to get my foot forward under the table.
Slamming. She drilled me on the difference between an aggressive top spin shot and a simpler slam. This was particularly new on forehand but she pushed it both on forehand and backhand.
My follow through tended to be a little exaggerated. She showed me how to keep it under control.
However, she also pushed a few ideas that are a little different from what I have heard so I've got more to think about.
Forehand. She wanted me to turn more on my forehand. Drop my right leg further back and rotate my shoulders more.
Backhand. Again, she pushed more body, not just arm. She wanted me to rotate my shoulders. It's more of a drop of my right shoulder and a rotate back of my left one. Then the body supports the shots so it's not just with the arm.
For off the side short backhands, she had be take a big step around the top.
I really enjoyed my lesson with her. I would have loved to have had one lesson daily for the week I was in Girona. I'd like to say "next time" but honestly, how often do I get to visit Girona?
And I am working on my Spanish including Las Palabras de Vocabulario de tenis de mesa.
