service return Archives - Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching

9 ways older players can compete with (and beat!) younger players

01/03/2019 by Tom Lodziak

As we age, we do decline physically. We are not as fast, strong and nimble as we once were. But the great thing about table tennis (at the amateur level at least), is that power and athleticism are not essential to win matches. If you’re a senior player (60 years+), what is the best way to compete with, and beat, younger players? In this blog post, I give nine areas you can focus on to help you get the better of your younger, fitter and stronger opponents. Keep reading

When returning serves, DON’T PROD THE BALL

12/09/2018 by Tom Lodziak

Returning serves is hard. It’s the thing most players at the beginner and intermediate levels struggle with the most. But there are ways you can get better at returning serves, even if you have only just started playing table tennis. In this blog post, I give some simple advice about how you can return more serves, plus I share a BIG NO-NO, something you should never do… Keep reading

How to add more variety to your service returns

03/09/201827/06/2018 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) How to return a topspin serve

03/09/201806/06/2018 by Tom Lodziak

Some players struggle to return topspin serves. They either pop the ball up too high or overhit the return so it misses the end of the table. What is the best way to return a topspin serve? How can you return these serves and put your opponent under pressure? In this video I show you three different options you can try. 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

(Video) How to read service spin

03/09/201813/07/2017 by Tom Lodziak

Returning serves can be tough. It’s something all table tennis players can struggle with at some point or another. Even professional players will have certain opponents whose serves they find difficult to deal with. In this video lesson, I look at how to read service spin. I explain the two big clues to look out for when trying to read an opponent’s serve. At the end of the video I do some of my serves. See if you can read the spin. Good luck… Keep reading