backhand flick Archives - Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching

[Video] How to confuse your opponent when returning serves – with Craig Bryant

16/09/2020 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, top coach Craig Bryant, explains how to confuse your opponent when returning serves. It’s all about the art of deception. You show your opponent you are going to play one shot and at the last moment you switch to another shot. This unpredictability makes it hard for your opponent to anticipate what you will do. When your opponent is uncertain, he or she will play weaker shots or make more mistakes. In the video, Craig shows how to add deception when returning serves with a forehand topspin, a forehand flick, a backhand flick, a touch and a push. Keep reading

[Video] Footwork and recovery for short balls – with Mark Mitchell

18/03/2020 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, pro coach Mark Mitchell explains how to improve your footwork and recovery for short balls. Many players at the amateur level struggle with short balls, either by overreaching or getting jammed at the table. Mark demonstrates his footwork both in and out of the table for balls short to the backhand and balls short to the forehand. There are some excellent tips in this video to make your footwork for short balls much better. Keep reading

[Video] Super easy backhand flick technique

14/01/2020 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, I explain a simple technique for doing a backhand flick. This technique is easy to learn and surprisingly effective at amateur level table tennis. This technique will also set the foundations you need to develop a more advanced backhand flick technique in the future. Keep reading

[Video] How to attack short backspin serves

21/03/201901/08/2018 by Tom Lodziak

Is it possible to attack short backspin serves? Yes it is! Is it easy? No. But it is possible. Of course, it is fine to push or touch short backspin serves too, but if you can learn to attack these serves, you have more options to put your opponents under pressure. Watch the video to find out how to do it… Keep reading

(Video) Improving my backhand flick with Eli Baraty

03/09/201804/07/2018 by Tom Lodziak

I like to use a backhand flick to attack short serves. I have an ‘ok’ backhand flick, but I want it to be stronger. I want to get more speed and spin to really put my opponent’s under more pressure. To improve my backhand flick, I asked fellow coach Eli Baraty to help me. In this video, I’ll show you my existing backhand flick, Eli’s feedback on what I need to do better and my new improved backhand flick. Keep reading

How to add more variety to your service returns

28/02/202027/06/2018 by Tom Lodziak

How do you return a backspin serve, which lands short, in the middle of the table? You actually you have far more options than you think. You can be very creative in how you return a short backspin serve. I picked up some great tips in a group coaching session I attended this week, which was run by Craig Bryant. In this blog post I share some of the things I learnt from Craig about how to improve the variation of your service returns. Keep reading

(Video) A simplified approach to returning serves

03/09/201807/03/2018 by Tom Lodziak

Returning serves can be really tough. One of the big reasons is ‘uncertainty’. You don’t know what the server is going to do. In this coaching video I share an approach to returning serves – a simplified way – which reduces decision making and uncertainty. This approach will hopefully help you return more of those tricky serves you struggle with. Keep reading