By Richard McAfee, USATT Certified National Coach

One of the newer strokes in the sport is the off-the-bounce-loop. This stroke is executed against your opponent's loop, immediately off the bounce. Unlike the traditional loop stroke that travels from low to high (vertical path), this stroke is much more horizontal in its path.

The Newgy Robo Pong 2000 is a great tool when learning this stroke. To best produce the flight path of a loop, I would recommend pulling your robot off the table a few feet and lowering its position from the floor. This will allow you to elevate the head of the robot and produce a more realistic loop trajectory. The Newgy Robo-Caddy is perfect for this.

Once you have your robot producing a good loop trajectory, start off by simply blocking the ball back. Once you have the correct timing and a good feel for the block, begin to close your racket and using just your wrist and forearm, brush over the ball. Little by little, lengthen your stroke until you are looping-off-the-bounce.

Keys to success:

• Make friction contact with the ball.

• Use a short stroke, redirecting your opponent's power.

• The stroke is primarily forward. There is very little backswing.

• Lift your elbow a little, so that your arm snap is moving horizontally not vertically.

• Contact the top of the ball.

• Push downward.

• Watch the speed of your opponent's racket to help time your own swing.

Courtesy of Newgy Industries

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