Hi, I am competing in a tournament coming up in two weeks and I really wanted to prepare and train hard in those two weeks I am 14 years old and im going to participate in the men's singles So really wanted to to ask you guys if you had any training ideas, or advise in tournaments to give me or other members I am being coached for two days each week and sometimes I play with others in other days of the week. I hope you can help me out, thanks!
If it's your first tournament, I advise you work on controlling your nerves. You will definitely be nervous at your first tournament and the adrenaline will screw up all of your timing. Try to stay calm throughout your game
Here are some basics for you to go into the tournament - 1. If opponent is strong in smashes/attacking, try playing more net, and take initiative to drop first (instead of clear). 2. If opponent is good at playing at the net, make sure your block is a bit further (blocking smash/drive). It is very difficult to play tight spinning net shot when the birdie is 2-3 feet away from the net. 3. If you feel that your opponent is more skillful/crafty than you, you need to keep attacking. Take some risk, jump on the low serve, and him on the defense right away. Go in with mind set that you know what you want to do against each opponent. Then you won't be nervous.
Is this tourny the Luton Bronze by any chance? I'll be going too, although just having come back from two injuries and still suffering the back end of a nasty virus, I won't be expecting much from myself!
Remember that you're there because you deserve to be there - self belief can be key in tournaments, and can be one of the biggest factors in how the day pans out. I'm not saying to go in like you're the cock of the walk, but remember that you're good enough to be there, and to keep playing your game like you do each week. It'll also be a great learning opportunity. Watch every game you can!! Cannot stress this enough. The only way we get better is by playing with, and watching the people around us, and learning what does well around the court. You will surprised how many good ideas come into your head just from watching people's strengths and weaknesses. Above all though, enjoy yourself. If you're 14, you have a lot of tournaments ahead of you, so soak up the experience and enjoy it! Best of luck!
Thanks everyone for the help! I will keep all these helpful key points in mind throughout the whole tournament!
I live in Middlesex so reaching Luton might be a long journey, I will be attending the Restriceted Middlesex u15 county tournament! Anyways I wish you good luck in your tournament!
I will be attending the Middlesex Restricted county u15 tournament! i guess Luton is quite far away from Middlesex. Anyways I hope you good luck in your tournament!
Assuming you're already at the level you need to compete - I'd add to this that you do visualization practice in which you visualize yourself playing successfully as vividly as possible. If you haven't been to the venue, visit it at least once, play a few games there, get used to its lighting/background/ceiling height etc. Practice focus - don't think about outcome of any match/games. Instead, focus on playing one point at a time. Practice deep breathing.
Hi there, The more you think about how you will perform in this upcoming tournament, the more mentally stressful it will be for you and this will just be an added pressure in your preparation. Mentally relax and confidently focus about your own abilities so that your mind can send a clear message to your inner self that you can perform well regardless to whom you will meet as similarly like you, your opponent also is a mere human beings that is as nervous to meet you as well. Look into a more brighter side for a while, for you to have the guts to enter a tournament especially if this is the first time shows that you have the confident in yourself that you possess the mental preparation, character and qualities to compete and that's a positive way to mentally start way forward. 2 weeks is an extremely short period of time for preparing yourself for a tournament and especially if this is not the first time you've participated then you can relatively have a general idea of what are your weakness and strength from your past participation and work on those issue. Discuss with your coach exactly what drills to practice to sharpen furthermore the qualities of your strength and at the same time the drills on how to cover your weakness from the eyes of your opponent. Once you can see how this works well for you, formulate your game play strategies at all possible variety of game play outcome to make it to your own advantage. Other than preparing this, boost your physical fitness and install safe practice habits as you will just end up having tears if you're injured now. Above all, pray to god and you will do just fine. SS
Perhaps you can clarify a bit more. While thinking about win or loss of the tournament is definitely a no/no, it's actually an excellent way to prepare using visualization (at least with the few books on Sports Mental that I read). Win or loss really is not a controllable factor. Also, given two weeks, it's not easy to prepare physically either. Make sure one integrates adequate rest time in between if one increases his fitness intensity. Make sure he stops his physicals a few days prior to his game day(s). Diet may also need attention to supplement added body tissue break-down. It might be better to play more games as he gets closer to game day, to get him into "game mode", rather than getting stuck in "practice mode". This tip is yet from another Mental book I read.
You've spot it right about that. It's the thought about the outcome e.g winning or fear of losing so much and also the thought about one's performance e.g "can i perform well ?". Indeed in sport psychology, visualization is one useful approach used for the purpose of mental preparation to develop that positive set of mind set inside a player. Such thought process is good to boost that moral inside you.
If it's your first, trust me you will become extremely nervous just like any other individual. Getting over it comes with experience. Also, don't except to always win your first tournament. Try to see your current level compared to others, and afterwards train in the areas you need to improve in.
