LOOPS: Can you describe your game to us?
Finn Luu displays all the characteristics of an offensive player with the additional skill to control the game from defence. A new generation player creating his game on the run. With the ball changes that the International Table Tennis Federation has handed down, many coaches believe that the new generation game is still in development.
“My plan is to be offensive, a sharp, close to the table attacking style of play under any circumstance. The ball has less spin than when I started playing which I don’t think is a bad thing to experience but now one needs to know that the ball is flatter and more can be done in terms of offence.”
LOOPS: In terms of technique and style, where do you see your game going and where are your next improvements coming from?
Finn Luu is one of Australia’s younger National high performance athletes, however it is the 15 year old Japanese sensation “Harimoto” that Finn moulds his game around.
“I think it requires a balance between watching players like Harimoto, taking opportunities to challenge yourself in different environments against and with different players and coaches as well as the work I do at home.”
Finn trains most days of the week at LOOPS, working on individual technique, carefully balancing his fitness and agility side of the game versus simply hitting the number of shots and balls to implement any technical changes.
“I am part of a great club at LOOPS, we work hard, work together and implement the changes required to my game, combined with overseas opportunities and some creativity in my program.”
LOOPS: What have been your biggest strengths over the years and how do you explain your improvement?
Finn is disciplined, thorough and willing to improve according to coaches that have worked with Finn over the journey, making it a major strength in his development.
“I am mindful and always working on having a constant improvement mindset. I think my biggest strength is to pick new things up very quickly and adapt to my environment.”
From an early stage Finn was taught to work with a number of coaches, learning to carefully understand and test ideas brought to the table from the likes of Kucharski (Poland), Chen Bin (China) or Carlo Angello (Belgium) on an international level and earlier from locals including his father Don, mother Man, LOOPS coaches Joe Gerada, Patrick Wuertz and Simon Gerada.
“Listening to those that have good advice and then the application of that advice has been a strength and I am confident that so long as I continue to explore ideas and work with the right people I can continue to improve.”
LOOPS: What’s your program look like?
“At the moment I train eight sessions per week plus a league night, my training partners are Xavier Dixon, Melissa Tapper and overseas players at the club.”
Finn is part of the SGTTA at LOOPS, a program designed to help aspiring Australian Champions have a one stop location to continue to their improvement in the game. Designed by Simon Gerada a former professional, Australian Champion and Olympian.
“I have a big team at LOOPS where everyone contributes: the coaches, the managers, my parents and other parents as well as the 150+ members participating weekly are all team mates. I am pretty lucky, I get good training and also get to help out other kids by blocking and feeding them once or twice a week.”
The culture at LOOPS is to help one another out, with the likes of Melissa Tapper, Xavier Dixon and Finn Luu all understanding the importance of helping each other achieve their goals.
“I typically take one day off per week for homework and an additional half day off for tutor and some rest.”
LOOPS: Our final question is one we have asked all ambassadors, which is “what are you ranked at home”?
“At the moment I am number 1, my brother Skyy is next best. He made the final of the Victorian Junior Championships this year against me. My dad is a handy player and my grandfather was also pretty good.”
The Luu family have a proud history in Table Tennis, dating back to the 60’s with Granddad Luu and his brothers picking up the game for social activity after work.
OUR DAILY ENVIRONMENTS
Our thoughts are simple, create the environment and champions will come. Plan the program to suit the environment and individuals will take advantage of it. Ask what we can do better and quality will continue. Set the limits and demand more. Finally, create a benchmark to only find it be surpassed.
OUR VENUE
Our venue will play host to many of the World.s best Juniors in preparation for the World Junior Championships and was built with the January program in mind. A venue conducive to World Class training and athletes like Finn, providing all the tools required to improve. From five robots to aid better quality sessions for developing players, or specific shot development for the likes of Finn to all the other important tools needed to produce champions.
OUR JANUARY PROGRAM
Is challenging, is disciplined and is monitored. A coach knows that learning should be fun, but fun is not just playing around. It is a carefully balanced approach to get kids responding to improvement. I’ve been in the game for over 20 years now, I know what it takes, have seen so many kids come through the system. It can be tough, it can be challenging but that is what we take the road less traveled.
Sessions are scheduled with physical training (off table) sessions, theory classes to help understand what high performance table tennis is and more than five hours of on table training daily carefully managed with competition practice and service training.
