Tom Lodziak 
A player I coach, Paul, had a frustrating experience in his league matches last week. Paul is in his early 60s and is very competitive – maybe a little too competitive – and this can often result in him rushing his shots, playing too aggressively and making too many errors. He is so eager to win, he often defeats himself. And this is what happened last week. Keep reading
Modern table tennis is all about attack. Topspin, flick, smash. Attack this. Attack that. Don’t push! Attack, attack attack. When players train, they almost always focus on their attacking shots. A pushing drill? Nah, that’s for wimps. A blocking drill? Pfft, waste of time. Is defence important any more? Is there any benefit in practising our pushes, blocks, chops and lobs? Well, yes, I believe there is a huge benefit. Let me explain why… Keep reading
So you want to buy a table tennis table? It’s not an easy decision. There’s a lot of choice available. In this blog post, I share advice about how you can tell a good quality table from a poor one, which brands are best, how much you should spend and where you can buy. I also give specific recommendations on which table tennis tables to buy for your home, club and school. Keep reading
Imagine you had played 35 matches and lost all of them. What would you do? Most people would quit table tennis and find another activity to do. But not Uma. Here’s a inspirational tale of a player I coach who keeps picking herself up after defeats and has finally achieved her first ever league win. Keep reading
I am delighted to announce that my new online academy – Tom’s TT Academy – is now live! In Tom’s TT Academy you will get access to exclusive coaching content, including the following… Training drill library – There is a mixture of drills focusing on different aspects of table tennis. Each drill includes and video … Keep reading
Buying table tennis balls should be an easy task. But alas not! There are loads of different types of ball available – competition balls, training balls and cheap ‘just for fun’ balls. Some balls are made of celluloid. Other balls are made of non-flammable plastic. So which are the best balls to buy? In this blog post, I’ll give my views of a variety of different balls and give specific recommendations on the best competition and training balls you can buy. I also give recommendations on which balls to buy for casual play. Keep reading
Many players have good serves. Serves which are low and spinny, with plenty of spin and placement variation. Serves which are difficult to return and win lots of points. But there is often a huge difference in what players do after they serve. How players approach this key part of their service routine determines whether they truly have a strong service game. I am going to highlight three types of server. Which one do you most identify with? Keep reading
I have set myself a new challenge. It’s a tough one. Maybe it’s beyond my ability level. But I am motivated to give it a shot. My new challenge is to break into the top 10 of the English veterans ranking list. Some would say I am deluded. They may be right. But, it’s a great goal to aim for in the next chapter of my table tennis life. Keep reading
A player I coach often complains about her poor footwork. The funny thing is that this player actually moves very well. She is fast. She has good balance. She can cover a lot of the table with her forehand. Her footwork is a lot better than mine! So why does she think her footwork is so bad? The answer is less to do with her feet and more to do with her eyes. Keep reading
I’m 35,000ft in the air. It’s a clear day, so I get some great views of the Norwegian landscape from my window seat on the plane. As we get closer to our destination, a slight panic starts to form. What the heck am I doing? This tournament sounded great fun when I signed up a year ago. Now I’m really not so sure. Maybe it would have been better to stay at home. Stick to local league matches. Stay in my comfort zone.
I’m about to take part in the 2023 European Veterans Championships in Sandefjord, Norway. Nearly 2000 players from across Europe will take part. There is a big German contingent. And Swedish. And French. These nations are super good at table tennis. Then there’s me. Tom Lodziak. A player with uncoordinated footwork, awkward technique and a mind full of self-doubt. I’ll be competing at a level higher than I have experienced before. What am I letting myself in for? Keep reading