Why Has Boll's Career Lasted So Long? Part 2
The previous piece was: Why Has Boll’s Career Lasted So Long?
Today let us first talk about the influence of Boll’s first coach. Helmut Hampl, a legendary coach of German table tennis, has over the years cultivated many young German talents, and Boll is the standout among them. In Butterfly’s interview with Boll, Boll spoke of Coach Hampl’s profound influence on him.
Hampl’s Table Tennis Philosophy
Boll mentioned that, as his first coach, his technique was basically learned from Hampl. Hampl emphasized stroke stability, not making simple errors, striking close to the table; during rallies, keeping the playing hand in a relatively high position.
At the time, many of his peers liked to back off the table and swing big. But Boll mostly stayed close to the table, gradually forming a fast, compact playing style.
How a coach forecasts the development trends of the sport is very important. We have seen many similarities in the playing styles of Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima. And the Japanese association’s generational cultivation plan, sustained over a decade — tilting more resources to promising young players, then training through competition — has already shown initial results.
Coach Hampl’s teaching of his disciples, at least philosophically, exactly matched the subsequent development trend. If Boll’s table tennis thinking had been more about backing off to rally and breaking spin with power, failing to form an effective high-speed, compact style, he might soon have been eliminated by the times, unable to stay active for so many years.
Hampl taught his disciples to keep aggressive, fast strikes close to the table, applying pressure to the opponent and maintaining a sense of oppression. And Boll perfectly practiced Hampl’s philosophy.
Earlier I wrote “The US Champion Shares the Secret to High Speed,” which has something in common with this; I have also placed it as the second item in today’s account — you can take a look.
Of course, down to us individual amateurs. We always practice bits and pieces of technique and tactics, without a suitable guiding philosophy to help us. I remember during the period a few years ago when my game improved fastest, it was because a teacher told me to play the ball as long as possible — from awareness to tactics — which fit my personal traits, rather than sticking to the over-the-table first three balls. After playing long, I also found it easier to defend.
So, swift horses are common, but a Bole — a discerning judge of talent — is rare. The mentor’s philosophy is key.
How to Quickly Adapt to Rule Changes
Boll believes rule changes make no difference to him. Quickly adapting to change, like a chameleon, is his strongest trait. He thinks: what is the best way to respond to these rule changes? What should he do to keep succeeding from now on?
So many people were quickly eliminated after rule reforms, but Boll’s career could last so long. From September 1, 2008, the ITTF began banning speed glue, the organic glue many amateurs still use now. After this rule came out, many thought it would hurt Boll, because the ball’s spin and speed would decrease. But in the World Cup semifinal afterward, he still beat Ma Long, showing stronger adaptability to rule changes.
When the ball grew from 38mm to 40mm, from the celluloid era into the plastic ball era, Boll believed his biggest advantage was his tactical understanding of the sport.
In the 38mm era, Boll’s serve was very good, and opponents found it hard to return short. At the same time, Boll received half-long serves very well; on that ball, Boll could bring out strong spin, with a high probability of scoring. But after the ball grew, Boll’s spin dropped, and opponents could defend more easily. But Boll adjusted: before, he focused more on scoring on the third ball; now he thought further ahead, how to score on the fifth ball. After adjusting, his third ball focused more on line, and only the fifth ball emphasized attacking power.
Boll said: before, the quality of the stroke itself was more valued, but as the years passed and with each rule change, my stroke quality was taken away. Then strategy gradually became more important. At some point, table tennis became for me a game like chess. The focus is no longer on stroke quality, but on tactics and confusing the opponent.
For us amateurs, it is the same. As we age, physical fitness declines, and stamina and energy are not what they were. Before we scored more by stroke quality; now we have to rely on game IQ, tactics and rhythm changes.