Tom Lodziak 
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
Some players are so good at serving that it can become a weakness. This is what often happens at lower levels… A player will develop some strong, spinny serves. His opponents don’t have the receiving skills to return many of the serves. He wins many points outright with his serve. But problems arise when the strong server faces higher ranked players – players who are capable of returning his strong serves. Now his service game becomes a weakness… Keep reading
Learning to read service spin is a vital skill in table tennis. 50% of points start with your opponent serving. If you can’t read your opponent’s serves, you are at a major disadvantage and will likely lose. Even though reading service spin is essential, it doesn’t make it easy to do. In this article I focus on one aspect of reading service spin which is often neglected… learning from your errors. Keep reading
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so the saying goes. But can you teach an adult table tennis player a new technique? As a later developer myself – and having spent the past 10 years coaching a lot of adult players – I know how challenging it can be to change the way you play a shot. When you have spent years (or decades!) playing a shot in a certain way, it can be very difficult to change technique. But it’s not impossible… Keep reading
Another league season is finished. It feels like I have played a lot of matches over the past few months. Not only league matches, but also county matches and tournaments. I don’t mind admitting that I’m going to enjoy a brief break from competitive play! But how did I do in my latest league season? Am I making any progress or going backwards? Here’s a review of the past few months… Keep reading
Over the past 10 years, I have done a lot of coaching. Some of my players have improved a lot. Others have only improved a little bit. Ideally I would like every player to make massive improvement, but there is a limit to what any individual coach can do. How much improvement is made is ultimately down to the player. But there is a definite pattern. There are certain things some players do, which allow them to make a big improvement in a short period of time. This is what they do, and you should do too… Keep reading
Returning serves is the hardest part of table tennis for many players. For beginners it can feel like an impossible challenge. Even advanced players can lose a lot of points from missed returns of serve. But you only need four shots to return any serve. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at all the different types of service spin you will face and how you can return them… Keep reading
IMPACT have recently released a range of blades, which claim to have a premium feel but at prices significantly less than the top of the range blades. In this article, I give my thoughts on these blades – how they play, how they feel, and whether they are a realistic alternative to blades four or five times their price. Keep reading
It’s very tempting to use an excuse when you lose a table tennis match. “The table was too slow.” “I wasn’t warmed up properly.” “My opponent used funny rubbers.” Players make excuses to protect their ego. It’s more comforting to blame something or someone else. This way you can maintain a belief that you are better than the player you just lost to. But ultimately making excuses will only hinder your improvement. Let’s look at some common excuses players use… Keep reading