Can't beat a player

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Blisse, Mar 2, 2011.

  1. Blisse

    Blisse Regular Member

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    OMG that would've helped to know like one month ago... haha. I never caught that. Darn! I must keep that in mind for my future games.

    I regret playing Singles A, because I'm playing against the best players at each school, for the most part. I'm not really ready for that, but I like the challenge. It's simply depressing losing to everyone because they're just tons better than me. I can't really put these strategies in effect when I'm on the run every second and have to hit perfect quality shots, move perfectly and focus constantly to even compete against these players.

    I lost a game because the walls were white and disappeared randomly in the middle of the rally. Not an excuse, but honestly that annoys me a bit... also when the schools have multiple gym lines, and badminton is a slightly lighter shade than the floor, and the basketball lines are black, and a foot short of the baseline... they throw me off a little bit.
     
  2. urameatball

    urameatball Regular Member

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    take the opportunity to learn from these better players.
    There was another thread where people complained about not getting the opportunity to play against better players, and therefore not improving. Seems like you're living everyone else's dream :).

    As for white walls, believe it or not, your opponent has white walls as well, lol.
     
  3. Blisse

    Blisse Regular Member

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    haha, yeah, I usually wear glasses, but my vision isn't that bad that I can't live without it. Plus when I sweat, they slide off very often, and since I also need to wear goggles, it's a whole lot of mess that I try to avoid. I'm just used to playing at a club where there are dark walls, dim lights and clear lines. Really spoiled me I guess.
     
  4. UncleFester

    UncleFester Regular Member

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    You should concentrate more on what you're actually doing on court, than focusing on glasses, walls or whatever. Excuses and explanations dosent get you better, training does. If someone is better than you, they have trained more, simple as that.
     
  5. Blisse

    Blisse Regular Member

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    I guess you don't know the feeling of sweat falling on to your eyelid in the middle of a match. Nor do you know how it feels to play with bad vision.

    And I'm not arguing my losses for those who are better players than me, and have trained more than me. I'm arguing against my losses where I know I've trained more, I know I've worked more, and I still lose and give easy wins.

    Does a person who just got off the bench deserve to get easy wins off a more tired opponent?
    Similarly, how does a guy with better vision means he has trained more than me?
    And how does a guy with fewer distractions from his sweat means he trained more?

    And yes, sweat actually affects me more than the average person. I sweat enough that by the end of a session, my entire shirt is darker because of the sweat. And there are often puddles on the floor. But I never mentioned that until now. That doesn't mean these issues never existed.

    I've read the three pages of suggestions already, and often re-read them to remind myself.

    At the moment, I blame my pathetic court sense. I make really bad calls when they're a meter inside the line. But I will still cringe every time I lose a point because sweat falls in my eye. Not that I've ended the need for training, of course.

    And to clarify, I don't blame my losses due to any of these problems. Maybe 3 or 4 points every game, but not enough to lose me the game usually.
     
    #65 Blisse, Apr 11, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2011
  6. UncleFester

    UncleFester Regular Member

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    look, don't take everything in a negative way, I will however say that my post might have sounded a bit rough, and for that i'm sorry.

    I've spent all my sporting life finding exuses for loosing matches in various sports, and it's very easy to do. In fact, it's by far easier than realizing the obvious truth, if there is a problem, fix it. Look for the solution instead of the problem.
     
  7. Rykard

    Rykard Regular Member

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    Identify weaknesses, make area of weakness stronger. Whether this is via fitness, coaching technique or tactics...
     
  8. Blisse

    Blisse Regular Member

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    My outlook in all my games is that I'm the worse player. I don't blame you, this is a really annoying area for me. I'm going into every game expecting to lose. I've played in my best shape last game, and put a really fun fight, but still lost. I've played terribly at other times, and lost. The people I've played are all better than me, with a few exceptions, and it annoys me to no end that I might be considered the worst one, unable to take a single game.

    And I'm getting more and more frustrated because my last chance to win just one game is Thursday, and I don't know if I can do that either. It's one thing to lose a few games, but I haven't won anything. If I had the opportunity to play hundreds of games, I'd probably be less concerned, but sadly I don't.

    Now I'm just tired of losing. Probably grumpy from that. Or something.

    Also notice how if you win, you never notice the little things like sweat falling on your eye. Only when you lose. And all my experiences so far are of losing.

    I think every area is a weakness unless you're the best player in the world. :)

    I never really show much emotion in real life. I usually just got mad inward. But doing that just made my badminton worse. At least this way, it's helping, even if by a little bit.

    Started a week or so ago to regret switching to singles, much less to play against the top singles players of each school...
     
  9. alexh

    alexh Regular Member

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    With that attitude, you'll almost certainly get what you expect!

    OK, so your opponents might be more skillful or more experienced than you, maybe you can't deny it. But you can still go in with the attitude that you're going to work harder than your opponents, be more motivated and more determined, and win, say, 20% of your games through superior willpower. (Over time you might replace 20% with a bigger number. But let's start with something that sounds possible right now.)

    Yeah, badminton sometimes brings out the worst in me too, on my bad days I get much grumpier than in "real life". Don't worry about it, it gets better over time. Try and focus on the positives: how much you're learning (both badminton skills and personality wise). If you ever go back to playing "easy" doubles games, you might be surprised at how much you miss being beaten up by those top singles players ;-)
     
  10. urameatball

    urameatball Regular Member

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    sweating too much = lack of fitness
    regret switching to singles = lack of fitness
    more tired than opponent = lack of fitness
    always losing = lack of fitness

    okay, my diagnosis might be skewed, but when you enter a court with more speed, more energy, and more confidence (AKA, better fitness)... you'll be greatly improving your chances of winning. Best part is, you don't need to be on court to improve your fitness level.
     
  11. MSeeley

    MSeeley Regular Member

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    And if you want to make use of your new found fitness (or do something instead of get fitter) train your footwork - the more efficiently you move around the court, the more at ease you will be, and can concentrate on tactics instead of worrying, and you will use much less energy.

    However, it should be noted, that if a player EVER has a problem, I am almost certainly going to tell them to improve their footwork ;) There are one or two exceptions, but you get the idea :) I have a one track mind it seems.

    Matt
     
  12. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

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    Expecting any outcome from a game is always a bad idea. Don't go in expecting to win or expecting to lose, just play the game. If you lose to someone but still play the best you can, there's no shame in that. In the time I've been playing badminton, I have played some very good players, world class in fact. When I play these people, more often than not, I receive quite a hammering but if I play well, I can walk away happy. You should be able to acknowledge that you've played well, even if you lose the game.

    I think people underestimate the significance of "streaks" in sports. It is considerably easier to keep winning if you've been playing well and picking up good results but much harder if you're going in to a match after lots of defeats. You need to clear your mind of what has happened for the rest of the season and focus on putting everything in to Thursday's game.

    You shouldn't have any reason to regret switching to singles. I assume that you were offered a place on the singles team by your school's coach so they clearly think you're good enough and you should be relishing the opportunity of playing the best singles players in your area.
     

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