There are some outstanding table tennis training camps run by top clubs and professional coaches all over the world. The problem is, it can be really hard to find out about the camps.
Their websites are sometimes hard to navigate or translate and it is hard to find a comprehensive list of all the best camps. In this article, we will take a look at some of the best table tennis training camps in the world so that you can easily get a feel for each camp and compare prices and other important details.
You can find a training camp for table tennis players of all ages and skill levels!
The Best Table Tennis Training Camp Overall
To become a better table tennis player, you need to practice as much as you can. If you have an extended period of free time (like a week or two), it can be a great idea to attend a table tennis training camp at one of the many such camps around the world. At training camp, you’ll learn more about the basics of table tennis from experienced coaches and they will teach you some valuable lessons.
For example, footwork is considered by many professional players to be one of the most important basic skills in the game of table tennis. It may seem like a good strategy for players to simply beat their opponents by standing in one place and not moving around a lot, but in competitive games with professional players on both sides of the table, there is far more chance of injury when the players do not move around very much.
So, many players who have been active in the sport for a while will warn you about ankle sprain injuries if you don’t develop your footwork to a high enough level. The B75 International Summer Camp (Sindal, Denmark) brings together some of the best Chinese and European coaches to create the perfect environment for player development.
If you only ever go to one international table tennis camp in your life, we highly recommend B75 as a place to really improve your game. You can learn from an impressive array of over 25 professional coaches. The camp usually takes place during July of each year at a cost of around $500 a week.
Best Table Tennis Training Camps in the United Kingdom
1. The Cooke and Deaton Table Tennis Summer School (Grantham, England)
It’s known as one of Britain’s best and most modern table tennis camps. It is run by many of the best coaches in the country and features several top players as sparring partners. The camp is quite expensive at about $700 a week, but everything is included for that price. Enjoy the camp in July or August with top coaches like Paul & Joanna Drinkhall, Alan Cooke, Nicola Deaton, Alex Perry, Kelly Sibley, and Desmond Douglas.
2. The Westfield table tennis camps (Northamptonshire, England)
They’re run by Greg and Tim Yarnall (GVT Table Tennis). They usually take place during the holidays at Easter and Christmas. These camps are great for children and adults and usually feature a whole range of top coaches, including the likes of Desmond Douglas, at reasonable rates of about $70 a day.
3. The eBatt-Topspin Summer Table Tennis Camp (Uxbridge, England)
This camp is held during August and you’ll learn with pros like Eli Baraty, Filip Szymanski, Chris Doran, and Matt Ware. This camp is also about $700 a week for an all-inclusive experience.
Best Table Tennis Training Camps in Europe
1. TT Camps (Eger, Hungary)
Coach Will Maybanks is a famous English player that has been living, playing, and coaching in the city of Eger, Hungary for many years now. These camps are held all year round at a price of about $80 per day (which includes accommodation).
2. Academy Malta International Table Tennis Camp (Had-Dingli, Malta)
The head coach of the club is Mario Genovese, who is 21 times Malta National Champion. This is certainly a very well-organized training camp for players of all levels and Mario is a very good coach. This camp is held near the end of June at a price of about $500 a week.
3. GV Hennebont (Hennebont, France)
The training at Hennebont table tennis training camp is excellent and the work rate is incredibly high. The camp is held all year round at a weekly price of about $400 (full board), $300 (self-catering), or about $250 for ping pong training only. Werner Schlager Academy (Schwechat, Austria). This is a world-class table tennis training center with ITTF Academy status. You’ll find several of the best coaches in Europe based here.
4. Butterfly International Training Camp (Calella, Spain)
Top coaches Petr Korbel, Joaquim Mallorquí, and Gabi Feher hold this camp during July and August to all players at high, technical, improvement or initiation levels), of any age, all over the world. The city, Calella, is on the Costa Barcelona Maresme. There are trains to Barcelona every 15 minutes and direct buses to Calella. The Hotel Miami is just a short walk to the training room. The Price: €458-779 per week.
5. Summer Table Tennis Camp (Zagreb, Croatia)
Spend your summer playing table tennis in the beautiful sports center known as Stella Maris in an incredible European setting with some of the best coaches in the world. One of these coaches is Zoran Primorac, a retired Croatian table tennis player. He is a two-time winner of the World Cup and one of only three table tennis players to have competed at seven Olympic Games. His highest ITTF world ranking was number 2.
6. Table Tennis Training Camps (Balatonfured, Hungary)
Held during July and August, these camps feature coaches like Ferenc Karsai and Péter Aranyosi for a price of around $500 a week. Table Tennis School Den Haag (The Hague, Netherlands). Some of the most famous coaches here include Dicky de Jong, Lars Wildenborg, and Boris de Vries. The price is less than $300 a week.
Best Table Tennis Training Camps in North America
1. Ararat Table Tennis Center (Glendale, CA)
It promotes the sport of table tennis or ping pong and provides the facilities and the social environment to participate, learn and compete in this enjoyable sport through coaching, practice, leagues, tournaments, table tennis camps, and open play.
2. Fremont Table Tennis Academy (Fremont, CA)
It offers summer camp classes open to Bay Area beginners with no prior experience to more advanced tournament-winning students. Fremont Table Tennis Academy, sponsored by world leader Butterfly, is one of the premier table tennis places to play and learn ping-pong. Students often win first place locally and medals nationally. FTTA has table-tennis classes for various skill levels ranging from ping-pong beginners with no prior experience to national medal-winning students.
Regardless of background, each player is valued and respected. Many coaches are available to instruct the campers. There will be various skills taught in a fun environment with instruction tailored to individual needs. Founder and Head Coach Shashin Shodhan has represented the US in the North American Olympic Trials. He has the highest level of coaching certification with both USA Table Tennis and the International Table Tennis Federation and is a Butterfly sponsored coach. The cost is $239 a week for half-day instruction Monday to Friday from 9 am to 12 pm.
3. Triangle Table Tennis Center, RTP Area, North Carolina (Morrisville near RDU Airport)
It offers basic training for beginners as well as advanced training with elite certified coaches. This is a state-of-the-art facility with about 40 competition tables, Gerflor flooring, powerful lighting, a fitness center, and a fully-stocked pro shop.
The Triangle Table Tennis facility is available for about 80 hours every week, and there is a range of categories like Open Play, Leagues, Tournaments, Group Lessons, Camps, Special Events, and Private Coaching for all ages and skill levels. You can either play as a guest or join as a regular member.
4. LYTTC Summer Table Tennis Camps (Dunellen, NJ)
These camps are held during June and August each year. Coaches include Lily Yip and other players. Shui-Ling “Lily” Yip is a Chinese-born American table tennis player and coach. There is a 10 week Summer Camp from June to August. There are also mini-camps over long weekends and public holidays. The club has a schedule of group classes for beginner and intermediate kids and developing adult players which focus on teaching and enhancing basic skills and techniques as well as other high-performance training groups. The price is around $350 a week.
5. Princeton Pong Table Tennis Camps (Princeton Junction, New Jersey)
This camp is offered throughout the year and is very engaging and fun, as it tries to motivate young players to learn and practice table tennis fundamentals. The camps are led by experienced coaches like Head Coach Ying Peng, who conduct lessons, practice matches, drills, and open play. The coaches try to adapt the core curriculum to meet the needs and abilities of each individual. Players will improve their hand-eye coordination, develop muscle memory, and understand footwork and fundamental strokes.
6. MDTTC Table Tennis Camps (Gaithersburg, MD)
The dates for these camps fall during the spring, summer, and winter seasons. Some of the coaches include Larry Hodges, Yinghua Cheng, Jack Huang, and a few other famous names. The price is around $299 a week.
7. New York International Table Tennis Center (NYITTC)
It’s a New York State Approved and USATT registered training center in Flushing, New York. They offer camps throughout the year with former world champion Head Coach Li Yuxiang. There are also several other assistant coaches as well as high-tech robo-pongs. Coach Li won the Chinese Championship three times, as well as many other group championship titles at the World Veterans’ Championship. He is a German and United States certified national level coach.
8. Pong Planet (San Carlos, CA)
During holiday breaks, they offer week-long table tennis camps for kids, who can live and breathe table tennis for 3 to 5 hours each day. This is considered a half-day experience but you can also sign up for the full-day version. Some of the camp activities include one-on-one coaching, robot training, match practice, and game tactics. There are several professional instructors who offer this physical training, which is suitable for both beginners and advanced players.
With high-quality courts, equipment, and instruction, along with a wide variety of programs for adults and juniors of all abilities, many of their programs help ensure a constant progression of competitive and recreational players. For serious players or fitness enthusiasts, they offer private coaching lessons and robot training. They also offer open play hours.
9. Power Pong Table Tennis Academy (Fountain Valley, California)
This academy offers a range of summer camps for kids, with a focus on introducing them to the Olympic sport of table tennis. Intermediate and advanced table tennis camps are designed to teach new players the training methods and drills of some of the best players.
Best Table Tennis Training Camps in China
The Chinese National Table Tennis Training Center (CNTTTC) can be found in the city of Shijiazhuang, in Hebei province, China. This is a world-class training center and has been the main venue for the Chinese National Table Tennis Squad since 1992. Players such as Wang Ligin, Deng Yaping, Qiao Hong, Kong Linghui, Ma Lin, Zhang Yining, Niu Jianfeng, Bai Yang, Wang Hao, Wang Nan, Hou Yingchao, and other Chinese professional players have trained here before world tournaments or Olympic Games.
The center provides training for all kinds of players from all over the world regardless of their ability, age, and gender. All of the coaches are experienced table tennis professionals who have trained players at world championship levels. Every Tuesday, players have the opportunity to compete against other players from all around the world.
Living quarters at the center are equivalent to 3-star hotels with standard double bedrooms. Single bedrooms also available upon request. Interpreters in all major languages are available. There is also a body conditioning gym made in Italy, plus a herbalist doctor on duty to provide soothing massages after training if necessary.
The center offers many kinds of foods, including Arabic, Chinese, and general European foods, with fruits and beverages. Visit the Table Tennis Museum at the center and take photos with the actual cups and trophies on display, such as the Corbillion Cup, the Iran Cup, the Swaythling Cup, the St. Bride Cup, the Geist Cup, the Pope Cup, and the Hedosic Cup.
You can enroll at any time at your convenience and availability at the training center. It is open to players of all ages and skill levels. To get to the Chinese National Table Tennis Training Center, it is only about four hours’ drive from Beijing Capital Airport. From Shijiazhuang Airport in Hebei, China, it is just 30 minutes to the training center by car.
A Few Important Things to Remember About Table Tennis
Whether you are looking for a 2021 summer camp or if you would prefer to look into winter camps, you’ll probably find one of these ping pong camps to be a good fit. For people who actually want to learn more about the game of table tennis, it can be a good idea to visit some of these camps and get to know some of the coaches and also meet some of your peers who can help you improve your game. You can also sign up for some training sessions or some private lessons at your local table tennis club.
Also, you should spend a decent amount of time on Youtube looking up some instructional videos of some of the most basic strokes. These types of videos will also teach you more about the official rules of the game, how to use backhand strokes and forehand shots, and how to control the ball around the table and improve your overall level of play. The Olympic Games and official tournaments organized by the International Table Tennis Federation can be the best ones to watch as examples of authentic games played between professionals.
