Tom Lodziak, Author at Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching

[Video] Beat your opponent with quick counter topspins – with Paul Drinkhall

11/06/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, pro player Paul Drinkhall, shows how to do a forehand counter-topspin. This is a shot played close to the table. Your opponent plays a looping attack. Instead of blocking, you play a short counter-topspin attack instead. The result? Usually a clean winner. The ball goes past your opponent before he or she even realises. In the video, Paul explains how to execute the shot, how to practice and when to use the shot in matches. Keep reading

How to do a legal table tennis serve

07/06/2019 by Tom Lodziak

One aspect of table tennis gets people more animated than any other. Serves. Or more precisely, illegal serves. I play local league table tennis and illegal serves are very common. I’ve seen full-grown men (it’s always men!) argue, swear, throw chairs and threaten physical violence because of the questionable legality of a player’s serve. So in this blog post, I will state very clearly what the service rules are and encourage you to play by these rules. Keep reading

[Video] Trick your opponents with service deception – with Craig Bryant

28/05/201928/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to cause utter confusion by using deceptive serves. Service deception is where your service action looks like topspin, but the spin is actually backspin. Or your service action looks like backspin, but the spin is actually topspin. If your opponent misreads the spin, then you can win a cheap point or get a very weak return for an easy 3rd ball attack. Keep reading

Review: Bribar Pro Offensive Light table tennis bat

23/05/201923/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

I have recently been trying out the Bribar Pro Offensive Light table tennis bat. This is a fast (and light!) bat aimed at players who are progressing from intermediate to advanced levels of play. I have been testing the bat in my coaching sessions – trying out loops, blocks, chops, smashes and serves. In this review, I share my experience of playing with the Bribar Pro Offensive Light table tennis bat, compare it with other bats and suggest who the bat is most suitable for. Keep reading

[Video] 3 drills to improve your rallying skills

27/05/201921/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video I show three training drills you can do to improve your topspin rallying skills. These drills will help you improve your reactions, your footwork and your ability to deal with random match-play. I like to use these drills a lot in my coaching sessions and they have helped me a lot improve my rallying skills, move up divisions and beat higher standard players.

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Lessons learnt from ASV Grünwettersbach

12/06/201916/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

Last week I visited German Bundesliga club, ASV Grünwettersbach. A professional table tennis club. Whoah! In this blog, I’m going to share some insights from my visit – the facilities, training methods, coaching style and equipment. What lessons did I learn? And did I manage to win any matches? Let’s find out… Keep reading

[Video] How to do a super fast long serve – with Paul Drinkhall

24/05/201913/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, pro player Paul Drinkhall explains how to do his super fast long serve. Paul uses this serve quite often when playing matches to catch his opponent out and set up an opportunity to do a strong 3rd ball attack. In the video Paul explains how to do the serve, why you should do the serve and how to use the serve effectively in matches. Keep reading

[Video] Serve + 3rd ball attack – with Craig Bryant

13/05/201901/05/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, top coach and service expert, Craig Bryant, explains how to use your serves to set up 3rd ball attacks. This is where you serve, your opponent returns your serve and you take advantage of any weak or predictable balls with a strong attack. In the video Craig discusses expecting your serve to be returned, anticipating how your serve will be returned, ball placement of your 3rd ball attack and much more. Keep reading

League champions at last – a review of my league season

24/04/2019 by Tom Lodziak

We won the league! Having finished second for the past two seasons, this year we finished top of Division 1 in the Cambridge league. Hooray! I am chuffed. This is my first ever Division 1 title in local league. I finished with a 63% win percentage, which is my highest total in Division 1 so far. In this blog post, I look at what went well during the season and what areas of my game let me down and need improving. Keep reading

Guide to buying a table tennis table

26/04/201917/04/2019 by Tom Lodziak

So you want to buy a table tennis table? It’s not an easy decision. There’s a lot of choice available. In this blog post, I share advice about how you can tell a good quality table from a poor one, which brands are best, how much you should spend and where you can buy. I also give specific recommendations on which table tennis tables to buy for your home, club and school. Keep reading