I got the urge to just take my racquet and beat the living crap out of it. Smash it on the ground, against the wall, and throw it for good measure. I had played in a tournament the weekend before and beat this guy 21-11, he wanted a rematch so he came to one of my school practices and we had our rematch (he didn't expect to lose to me because he didn't know I improved). I felt pretty good before the game but something bad happened. Because the roof at school is noticably lower than the tournaments', virtually all my clears missed the back line by an inch or so. It happened again and again and again... I lost the game 15-3 or so. I shrugged it off and went into my second game a little more patient, I played ok, but again my shots missed the back line. I was losing 11-5 and missed the back line again, I almost lost it lol... I wanted to just beat the living hell out of the thing. But thankfully I kept myself from snapping lol and ended up winning the game 17-15. I lost the 3rd game 17-16 though... just kept missing the backline (played more net shots). This thread seems kindof pointless lol but it was funny how mad I got... I didn't show I was mad but I was pretty pissed lol... do you guys get mad often? It was uncanny how my shots went out that day... usually they hit the backline right on (I don't know how I do it but I guess I just got the feel for the gym)... I mean I wouldof smoked him if they hit... it's strange how one of your shots can go and lose it for you - even if you outplay your opponent... and no one notices those misses... bleh Another question I have is how do you adjust to different gyms? Height differences, colour of walls, lighting, floor type, and some courts even seem to have dfferent dimensions... how do the good players adjust to new surroundings? Or does atmosphere affect me more than most for some reason?
When you lose your cool, you lose the game... Hey Tropicalmouse, Too bad about the loss, but it's always gonna be up and down. Best thing is to learn your mistake and move on. In singles, there are two opponents on the court. The guy on the other side and yourself... nothing gets to you like yourself since you know your own weaknesses more than anybody else. In that case, you probably felt like you owned the guy the last time, that you could own him now. Man, talk about unnecessary pressure on yourself. Next time you play, just treat every opponent as people who could help bring your play to a higher level. Every game an opportunity to improve. Keeping frustration to a bare minimal is key to control, how you do that depends on how you approach the game. One gets maximum control when one's relax. As for playing in different venues, just be sure to observe the characteristics of the venue, observe how it affects other players' games if possible and adjust your game accordingly.
I get frusterated when I miss easy shots I know I can hit. Sadly that means I end up missing more easy shots.
I know how you feel. It happened to me just 2 weeks ago. I've worked very hard for the better part of a year to beat a guy half my age, I'm 42, and four weeks ago it happened. I got him for the first time. After that I beat him twice again, and up came a tournement. I really felt I could get far, maybe even all the way, but then I got this terrible cold. Two days before the event I was feeling a little better, my nose an throat were reasonably free again only my ears felt like they were filled with cotton plugs. Its a wonderfull feeling, every step you make keeps bouncing through your head. To top everything up, I had to play this guy in the first round. He soon realised that I wasn't goiing 100% and took full advantage. (which I would have done too, if I was in his shoes) I just couldn't keep up with his speed, so I tried to force it with power. There were two places where my shuttles landed, either in the net or out. Result 21-6. At this time I was ready to toss rackets, bag and the rest in the bin. The event took place on Saturday and Sunday. Monday I felt a whole lot better, healthwise. Between the ears is a different ballgame alltogether. Joop
tropicalmouse: Perhaps the reason all your clears were going out the baseline was because the shuttle was too fast? Phil
You need to learn to adapt to the arena you play in, noone can do it for you. Test the shuttle, if it's fast slow it down or get a new one. If you get angry the first thing you have to do is to take a step back and relax, back off from the red mist and go back to basic simple play. If your clears are out, don't hit them as hard or change from a straight to a slightly diagonal one to compensate. Bear in mind hte hall may be warmer and the shuttle will fly quicker so some things are out of your control, realise this and adapt to the change. If the roof is lower change your game to fast attacking drives and flicks just out of reach to take advantage of both the low height and the fast shuttle.
why do players take out their anger on their racquets??? it's not really the racquet's fault now is it?? me personally, i used to hit myself really hard in the calf muscle whenever i was really pissed.... this resulted in disgustingly purply calves and many people saying "stop hitting yourself, it's getting gross"
Sometimes, I see people hit their head with their racquets when they miss a very easy shot or sometimes some people bang their head on the ground. The most common thing I seen people do when they are angry is swear out bloody hell and punch themselves in the chin.
my legs don't cost $200 a pop =) not to mention, the pain goes through my entire body, making me feel displeasure.. which in actuality means i'm taking it out on myself, and i should be
Just recently at my club, a player got so fustrated with his partner(bad team work, miscommunication and missed a lot of shots because they were confused who should get the bird) that he just walked off the court. The other pair was shocked, they didn't know what happened, they were playing one moment and the next thing they know they game was over but the score wasn't 15. This just shows bad sportsmanship, is okay to be angry but I think is inappropriated to do something like that.