Jože Urh is an energetic and innovative coach, constantly developing  advanced coaching techniques. Currently, he is the Slovenia National Coach & Head Coach of the Slovenian Training Center, who led the Slovenian Men’s Team to the Bronze Medal in the European Table Tennis Championships in 2017.

A former Yugoslavia National Team Player, he started coaching in 1986. During his career he coached in Italy & Slovenia, and successfully led table tennis players from all levels, helping them win medals in Cadet, Junior, U21 & Senior competitions.

During this lecture, that he gave during the ITTF Rough Diamonds Training Camp in Otočec, Slovenia in 2017, he focuses on the importance of footwork and balance for a player, to make successful ball contact.

Part 1

In Part 01:

  • how aside from hard work, luck is also a factor in an athlete’s success (0:00-1:15)
  • how coaching mistakes that are made at a young age sometimes cannot be fixed later on & the proper technique needs to be learned from the start of players career  (1:15-4:30)
  • what makes a good coach & how tough it is to fix bad technique habits  (4:30-6:50)
  • distance, time & obstacles – factors that influence players movement  (6:50-7:55)
  • specific movement in table tennis & how it is influenced by the game itself  (7:55-9:47)
  • example how the quality of a players technique influences a match, how taking risks means making many mistakes (9:47-10:54)
  • each player can be classified into 3 categories depending on their basic table tennis position, how body weight and a players center of gravity is essential for a high level table tennis player, if it isn’t correct – no chance for success (10:54-14:00)
Part 2

In Part 2:

  • How rhythm affects a players game, why it is essential for a table tennis player & how every step counts (0:00–3:10)
  • how center of gravity, position of the feet and body & footwork come together to enable a table tennis player to successfully play the game (3:10–6:15)
  • video example #1 of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (6:15–9:56)
  • video example #2 of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (9:56–12:30)
  • video example #3 of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (12:30–15:20)
  • how training has to have a purpose & the exercises have to be applicable to competition situations (15:20–16:47)
Part 3

In Part 3:

  • video example #1 of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (0:00-2:36)
  • video example #2 of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (2:36-7:36)
  • why balance is so important in table tennis, how the change in rotation of the ball makes a huge difference & why the new plastic balls play a big part in the style of play of a table tennis player (7:36-11:06)
  • how the players grip, angle & position of the racket have to adapt to the new balls (11:06-12:43)
Part 4

In Part 4:

  • video examples of good and bad table tennis technique & analysis (0:00-4:33)
  • how footwork and balance have to be taught simultaneously with table tennis technique (4:33-5:43)
  • the Q&A part of the lecture question 1 (5:43-9:02)
  • the Q&A part of the lecture question 2 (9:02-10:46)
  • the Q&A part of the lecture question 3 (10:46-12:22)
  • the Q&A part of the lecture question 4 (12:22-13:32)
  • the Q&A part of the lecture question 5 (13:32-16:47)