Tom Lodziak The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming! I love the Olympic games. It’s great that sports like table tennis get much needed extra media coverage, even if it’s only two weeks every four years. I’m so excited about the 2016 Rio Olympics, that I have decided to announce (by which I mean “predict”) who will win the the gold medals. Read on to find who I think will win… Keep reading
A slightly different blog post from me this week. For my day job, I work in digital communications (e.g. managing websites, email marketing, social media etc). I’ve been doing this for 15 years, so know a thing or two about building, managing and promoting websites. I thought it would be a nice idea to share my web design knowledge with the table tennis community. In particular, I want to help those table tennis clubs who don’t have a website. In this blog, I’ll explain how to set up a website for your club, what content you need and how to promote your website. Keep reading
Most professional table tennis players love to attack with their forehand from all areas of the table, including the backhand corner. They have the ability to step around the backhand corner, attack with their forehand and then effortlessly recover to play a forehand attack from the opposite corner. They make it look so easy. So what can we learn from the professionals? In this blog post, I explain how to play strong forehand attacks from the backhand corner, highlight common mistakes to avoid and share two simple training drills to help you improve. Keep reading
It has been a league season of mixed fortunes. Our team remained unbeaten all season in the league, yet we only finished in second place. I achieved a respectable win percentage (84%), but this was lower than the previous two seasons. We won the handicap competition, but crashed out of another cup competition in the quarter final due to a shocking performance by myself. So, what went wrong? In this blog post I reflect on my playing performance over the past few months and examine my big tactical mistake. Keep reading
Playing a very good blocker is like playing a brick wall. Everything comes back. They seem to know where you’re going to attack even before you’ve played your shot. You put all the effort in, topspinning this way and that way, but the ball keeps being returned. By the end of the match you’re exhausted and dripping in sweat. You look across the table and your blocker opponent is as fresh as a daisy. So what can you do to beat a blocker? Here’s my list of top tactics you should use… Keep reading
Consistency is one of my big things. It plays a big part in all of my coaching sessions. There’s not much point having a devilish spinny serve or a big attacking shot if you can’t execute them consistently. You’ll give away points rather than winning points. This isn’t good table tennis. In this blog post, I explain why I think consistency is so important and how you can improve your consistency. I also challenge you to take my consistency test. Will you be able to get 10 out of 10? Keep reading
I used to have a terrible record in matches which went to a deciding game. In a best of 5 match, if the score was 2-2, I just knew I would lose the final game. And guess what? I would lose. Over and over again.
Fast forward to the present. Over the past four league seasons, my success rate at winning a deciding game is a lot better. In fact, it’s fantastic! At one stage, I won 14 consecutive matches which went to a deciding game. That’s a big improvement.
So, how did I do it? In this blog post I explain how I changed from a player who always lost a deciding game to a player who mostly wins a deciding game. Keep reading
Most table tennis matches are played in a good spirit. But very occasionally there’s a bad-tempered match. There may be two players who are desperate to win. Or two players who don’t like each other very much. In this type of tense atmosphere, unsporting behaviour can sometimes occur. Here’s some of the unsporting behaviour I’ve witnessed over the years. Are any of these scenarios familiar to you? Keep reading
Hands up if you regularly practise playing pushes? I’m guessing there aren’t many hands in the air right now. I can partly understand why players avoid practising their pushes. They find it boring. They think a push is defensive, safe and passive. But rather than seeing a push as a passive shot, you should approach pushing as an opportunity to put your opponent under some serious pressure. In this blog post, I reveal how you can become a pushing master and win lots more points. Keep reading
You can win lots of points with strong 3rd ball attacks. You serve, your opponent returns, you attack. If all goes to plan, you win the point on the third ball. Even if you don’t win the point on the third ball, you are likely to be in control of the rally. To be a strong 3rd ball attacker you need to practice lots of different serve and receive routines. In this blog post I share a few 3rd ball attack training drills. Each drill below includes a diagram, step-by-step instructions and suggestions for making the drill harder. Keep reading