Some feedbacks since my last post as I played three tournaments with encouraging and improving results especially since after each tournaments and the points I scored, I gradually got placed in higher ranked categories and played against better players. But... as much as I focused on my pre-tournament preparation whether it be playing time, physical training, food intake (especially the week before a tournament) and rest time, there is always somethig missing for me to perform at my maximum and I had my best result (2nd with a tight 3 setters in favour of my opponent in the only match I lost on this day) on the tournament I was the least prepared for with almost no training the week before... so I can only conclude the more I’m prepared the more pressure I add on myself and the more I expect performances to be high and collapse mentally when things go wrong like it did in two lost matches in two straight sets while leading a quarter final’s first set 19-11 and a semi final’s first set 15-8 and just giving up on the second set by playing “for fun”. My worst result (1/4 final exit) was also due to excessive physical training including too much interval training (4 sessions in 6 days) during the week before the tournament despite allowing two full rest days. Things I know impact my performances negatively: - too much play time or physical training the week before - playing too early in the morning (played all the three time at 8am like you too @Borkya and yes it’s not the best schedule even though I weirdly won all of my 8am matches so far even if I play while waking up hehe) - the first and last match of the day (the lowest ones of the day in term of performances) - long interval between matches (yesterday’s tournament was the hardest as I had 3 hours wait between the 1/4 final match and the semi final which I lost playing very poorly) - analyzing too many matches on tv confuse me on how to play (still figuring out my style of play) - starting to loose focus when leading with high margin as I see myself winning too early and already thinking of the next match and things such as saving energy etc while knowing it’s the worst thing to do in sports Things I know impact my performances positively: - less preparation and a free mind I guess only experience will help me play with more confidence and less pressure. I won’t stop preparing myself as best as I can though and I guess I will find the right equation for me soon enough. Ps: @Cheung how did your semi final goes at the HK masters few momths ago?
Won the competition and got champion. Semifinal was tough and intense just like the quarter final. Something like 25-23 in first game and 21-18 in second game. Final wasn’t hard but we started at the opponent’s pace and lost the first set. We upped the pace and pressure and took the second and third games straightforwardly.
We used to divide training into "physical" and "skill" days. Physical would be a lot of multi-feed, footwork, exercises etc. whereas skill would be about control and shot quality. For example, we would practise drop shots from 1 corner. We would do part of the footwork, but not the whole footwork. So we woudn't be returning all the way to centre etc. but we would still have rotation and a step that prepares for recovery towards the centre. If we did smashes, they weren't hard smashes, but they were focused on getting the correct angle and hitting lines/hitting a bottle. It was a way to practise something without it being too strenuous.