Today at the Club

I got the Galaxy De-1 blade and tried it out at the club. It was a little tricky to adjust to because it's significantly thinner than my KLHS. The blade was definitely faster and maybe stiffer. Even though it was faster it was less bouncy so it was easier to keep my pushes low. Looping was pretty good as the blade flexed as I swung harder keeping the dwell time. The extra speed helper a lot on my backhand as I backed away from the table. On the forehand side it was a bigger adjustment as I found it harder to lift the ball, especially against backspin. I need to try the blade more to see if I can adjust. It's possible I either need to use a thicker rubber or softer rubber on my forehand side. Hitting felt really good. The ball went faster and the extra speed gave me more control on hitting. The big thing I need to try is using the blade for flipping. I didn't really get a chance today as the people I played mostly served long. I think with the better touch on pushing and control in hitting and blocking, the blade fits my game well.

Not too much to say about the matches I played. I'm trying to be a little more aggressive with my backhand service return and it's been serving me well. By agressive I mean topspinning the ball. Against topspin and sidespin serves I'm trying to use a very conservative slow shot and place the ball. Against backspin I need to take a bigger swing to counteract the spin. I'm still trying to open to my opponents forehand side and it still feels a little awkward, but I'm starting to hit a few more in.

I think I'm going to try and adjust to this blade and use it at the next tournament.