Ultimate guide to playing table tennis at home

Ultimate guide to playing table tennis at home

Life is in limbo. With ongoing restrictions and lockdowns, most of us have not been able to exercise and play sports in the way we would like. With our choices severely restricted, many of us are trying to find ways of being active at home. Table tennis is one very good option. It is great fun. It is beneficial for your physical and mental health. It is suitable for all ages. And you can play with family or by yourself, with the right equipment. In this detailed article, I am going to give you lots of practical information about playing table tennis at home… Keep reading

[Video] Tom in training #2 … Help me improve! (Nov 2020)

[Video] Tom in training #2 … Help me improve! (Nov 2020)

Here’s some footage of my last training session, filmed the day before the latest lockdown. In this session coach Ferenc Horvath is once again helping me to develop my attacking game. As always, I am happy to receive constructive feedback. Just leave a comment with your thoughts on what I need to do to improve. Keep reading

[Video] Tom in training…Help me improve! (Sep 2020)

[Video] Tom in training…Help me improve! (Sep 2020)

I’m back in training, trying to improve me game. When life returns to normal, I will be entering a few tournaments and see how far I can get. To help me improve, I have enlisted the help of coach Ferenc Horvath. In particular I have asked Ferenc to help me develop my attacking game and my footwork. I have a habit of being too cautious when I play, so Ferenc is encouraging me to get into my beast mode. Keep reading

Training in uncertain times

Training in uncertain times

In the UK, table tennis is slowly spluttering back to life. Some clubs and sport centres have reopened giving us some opportunities to practice. But competitive table tennis – leagues and tournaments – is still very limited. So what should our focus be during these uncertain times? Well if you do have the opportunity to play table tennis, I would suggest now is the ideal time to be focusing on improving your technique and sorting out any weak areas of your game. Keep reading

Bad technique, unorthodox technique, good technique, great technique

Bad technique, unorthodox technique, good technique, great technique

Technique is a contentious issue. If you line up 10 coaches and ask them how to do a forehand loop (or any stroke), you will most likely get 10 slightly different answers. How can this be? Surely there is a correct way of playing a shot and everything else is incorrect? Well no, not exactly. If only table tennis were that simple! In this blog post, I give my thoughts about good technique and bad technique and hopefully give some clarity on this confusing issue. Keep reading

Why is backhand topspin vs backspin so difficult?

A few days ago I had the pleasure of coaching at the Top Edge & Gertsen Training Camp at St Neots Table Tennis Club. Part of my role was to do 1-to-1 sessions with some of the players. In these sessions I asked the players what they wanted to work on. The players were a mixture of ages and standards, but strikingly most of them wanted to work on the same thing – backhand topspin vs backspin. This is consistent with my own coaching sessions in Cambridge. Backhand topspin vs backspin seems to be a shot which is very difficult for a lot of players (myself included) at the amateur level. Why is this? Keep reading

Four simple ways to make a two point improvement

A key focus of the training camp I organised in the summer was for players to make a two point improvement. Think about all the games you have lost 11-9. With a two point improvement, you win these games 11-9. Think about all the games you have lost 11-7. With a two point improvement, the score is 9-9 and you have a good chance of winning. A two point improvement may seem small, but it can make a big difference to how many matches you win or lose. Here are a few obvious ways you can make a two point improvement… Keep reading

How to replicate training form in league matches

How to replicate training form in league matches

Why do some people play great in training and terrible in league matches? I have given this topic a lot of thought over the years. And I believe there is one thing you can do which can drastically change your match form. So if you want to replicate your training form in league matches, then read on… Keep reading

Does being a table tennis coach help you become a better player?

Does being a table tennis coach help you become a better player?

I often get asked whether being a coach helps me improve as a player. There is an assumption that when you start to coach, your own improvement stops. You spend too much time feeding, too much time instructing and too much time talking. You don’t have time to work on your own game. So you don’t improve. But is this true? Yes and no. Let me share my experience so far… Keep reading