Tom Lodziak, Author at Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching

Bad technique, unorthodox technique, good technique, great technique

31/03/202107/02/2020 by Tom Lodziak

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

[Video] What’s wrong with my game?

16/11/202416/12/2019 by Tom Lodziak

In this video, I get some feedback from Rade Markovic (Head Coach – ASV Grünwettersbach) about my table tennis skills. Rade watches me play with Juan Perez, a Spanish junior player, and then delivers his verdict. What is the biggest issue with my game? What do I need to do to improve? Keep reading

Using mental rehearsal to reduce nerves and boost performance in table tennis

11/11/202406/12/2019 by Tom Lodziak

I have suffered badly with nerves in the past when playing competitive table tennis matches. One technique which has helped me control my nerves is mental rehearsal. This is a technique which is very common with professional athletes in all sports. But you don’t need to be a professional athlete to experience the benefits of mental rehearsal. Any table tennis player, at any standard, can benefit. In this blog post, I explain what mental rehearsal is and how you can use it when playing to boost your performance. Keep reading

How to overcome “3rd game syndrome”

26/11/202427/11/2019 by Tom Lodziak

One of the players I coach often struggles when he gets to the 3rd game in a match. He told me… “I have found that I quite often win the first 2 games comfortably maybe 11:5 or 11:6 but then in the 3rd game I lose. I am sure this is a psychological thing. I have asked around and even some much better players than myself experience this from time to time. What’s going on? How to beat this?” In this blog post, I explain how you can overcome “3rd game syndrome” and win the 3rd game and the match. Keep reading

Why is backhand topspin vs backspin so difficult?

02/01/202407/11/2019 by Tom Lodziak

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

Copying the pros can make you worse

26/11/202424/10/2019 by Tom Lodziak

How much should you try and copy professional table tennis players? Their technique is so smooth. The footwork is brilliant. They can generate huge amounts of speed and spin. And they are incredibly accurate and consistent. Pro players make the game look so easy and so effortless. So if we want to improve, then surely it makes sense to just study and copy what the pro players do? Well yes and no. There are instances when copying the pros could make you much worse. Keep reading

Four simple ways to make a two point improvement

02/01/202404/10/2019 by Tom Lodziak

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

26/11/202419/09/2019 by Tom Lodziak

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

Parenthood and table tennis

31/03/202106/09/2019 by Tom Lodziak

It’s been a busy summer, but not for table tennis reasons. I actually took most of August off because of the birth of our 3rd child. He was born 17 August and quite a feeding machine. So whilst my head is completely wrapped up in the dramas of having a new-born baby in the house, I thought I’d write a blog post on the subject of parenthood and the difficulty of playing table tennis (or maintaining any hobby). Keep reading