How to train like an Olympian: Team GB’s table tennis athletes on how to master speed
In the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, The Independent’s Kate Gill looked into what it takes to train like a Team GB athlete ahead of competing on the world stage.IndependentTV’s How To Train Like A Olympian is a series focused on the individual fundamentals Olympians have to focus on within their training.Four-time Olympian Liam Pitchford, 31, and Anna Hursey, 18, focus their training on mastering reaction times — an essential skill to have when you have less than a second to react.Watch more How To Train Like An Olympian episodes on The Independent’s YouTube here.
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00:00Speed is very important in table tennis, I would say.
00:06Between my opponent and me hitting the shot,
00:08it's probably not even one second, maybe even less.
00:11It can change like that.
00:13Stay in the moment, play point by point.
00:15Try to be prepared for anything.
00:17You know, you're going to have ups and downs in sport
00:19and it's how you deal with that
00:20that makes you the athlete that you are.
00:31I'm Anna Hirsi, I'm 18 years old and I play table tennis.
00:34I'm Liam Pitchford and I'm on Team GB's 2024 Paris team.
00:44I first got into the sport when I was around five years old.
00:48I think I was committed at quite a young age.
00:50Since five, I've been practising pretty much every day
00:54and started, you know, becoming better and better.
01:01I got into table tennis about nine years old
01:04and there was a table tennis club going on at lunchtime
01:07and I just went along with two friends
01:09and just instantly got kind of hooked.
01:11I think around 12, I probably realised
01:13that I wanted to be a professional.
01:15Yeah, I just loved the environment
01:17around sort of the clubs that I was playing at.
01:20I just chose table tennis
01:21and guess I made the right choice, I think.
01:31In table tennis, speed is also important.
01:34We have to be very fast on our feet and hands a lot
01:38and it's, yeah, definitely one of the biggest parts of the games.
01:43You need the speed in your legs, you need the speed in your hands,
01:46otherwise you're not getting to the ball, that's for sure.
01:54So a day, we train around five hours.
01:57So a day, we train around five hours.
01:59We do normally two sessions, two and a half hours
02:02and then sometimes we do work outside of the hall,
02:06so in the gym or cardio and things like this.
02:14We do a lot of multi-ball training
02:16where the coach will just basically just fire balls at you
02:19and you've just got to be quick and react
02:21and try and get as many as you can.
02:23So that's the main way we would practise it.
02:26I probably still do that pretty much every day.
02:30If we're doing a morning session,
02:32I'll do probably two footwork exercises to start,
02:35each ten minutes per exercise
02:38and then I'll move on to serve and receive,
02:41again, just working on that.
02:43How I think people are going to play against me,
02:45I know I've got a pretty good idea now
02:47how people are going to want to play against me,
02:50so I need to work on that a lot.
02:53And then in the afternoon it's more
02:55probably a couple of exercises, serve and receive,
02:57and then I'll do some multi-ball.
02:59And then just some small things if I feel like
03:01something doesn't go as well in practice,
03:03I'll try and work on that and improve it.
03:10A few minutes before a match, I'll probably do some warm-ups
03:13and try and be in the right mental space for it,
03:16kind of try to be prepared for anything
03:19and probably a few seconds before, a minute before,
03:22I like to think about the tactics.
03:25In the seconds leading up, I'm just trying to get myself calm,
03:29as calm as possible.
03:31Obviously everyone's going to be nervous.
03:33I think it's about controlling those nerves as best you can,
03:36not being too nervous that you can't do anything
03:38and to the other extreme where you're just that excited
03:41that you're trying to get everything out
03:43and you're not really thinking about how you're playing.
03:45So, yeah, I'm just trying to keep calm
03:48and I've spoken to my coach the night before
03:51and gone through the tactics that we think I need to do
03:54and I'll just be focusing on getting those right
03:57at the start of the match.
04:00I think what's going through my mind in a match
04:02definitely changes.
04:04It depends on the situation, really.
04:06If it's quite a close match, then for me,
04:09I would try to kind of relax a little bit
04:12and take the nerves off and just try and play my game.
04:15Of course, if I'm ahead, then I'll try to focus more
04:18and try to keep ahead.
04:20I think the mental speed part of it is probably the toughest,
04:24I would say.
04:25I think you can naturally practice being quick on your feet
04:29or having quick hands.
04:30You can almost work on that easier,
04:33whereas, especially in table tennis,
04:35some people have that almost natural, quick decision-making.
04:39I'd probably like to think I have that.
04:42There's some players that are more methodical.
04:44They'll almost pre-plan the point
04:47and hopefully the ball goes to the right position, basically.
04:51But, yeah, you've just got to be switched on
04:53for everything all the time.
04:55I think table tennis is a lot about
04:57watching what your opponent's going to do
04:59and kind of also analysing where they might hit the ball,
05:02where you might hit it.
05:03And, yeah, definitely a lot of speed
05:06and also mental quickness as well.
05:08I'm probably telling myself to stay calm.
05:10You know, there's times in my career
05:12where I've not handled that as well as I could have.
05:15I've done a lot of work.
05:16I'm just trying to stay in the moment,
05:18play point by point.
05:19You know, it's table tennis.
05:20It can change like that.
05:22So it's important just to focus on the next point.
05:24One's gone and not let, you know,
05:27lose two, three, four in a row.
05:28Almost like trying to get back into it as soon as possible.
05:31Obviously, I think it's changed me as a person to have had that
05:35and, you know, just to be able to say,
05:37you know, I've been to an Olympics,
05:39I've competed at an Olympics,
05:40hopefully one day win a medal at an Olympics.
05:43It's definitely going to feel super, super exciting to be out there
05:47and I'm sure there's a massive crowd.
05:49So I think for me to try and get my emotions good
05:52and my mental space in the right place to play my best.
05:56Right now for me, whether I win or lose,
05:58I'm in a place where I know that I've done everything I can.
06:02I am ready.
06:03I am an Olympian.
06:04You just watched How To Train Like An Olympian
06:06on Independent TV.
06:08Thanks for watching.
06:09See you soon.
06:10Goodbye.