im a intermediate player in high school. me and my friends are training, but we've noticed that even if we drill or condition a lot, a lot of our victories come down to our mental toughness. even though we are more or less the same level, some of us will lose very badly because we cant maintain our calm or manage our frustration. for me, i solved this problem by gaining confidence in my shot consistency and playing more to learn how to adapt my play style to my opponent. other than this, is there any other good way to train for mental toughness/stability?
Mental Skills Training Hi ricefield' You're on the right track . Sports Psychologists help athletes such as yourself to achieve precisely what you strive for... Essentially, they guide athletes along in the right direction... In Mental Skills Training, athletes need to; 1- Set Goals (decide where you wanna go... and commit!) 2- Use guided Mental Imagery (eg. watch videos featuring 'positive aspects of play', visualize playing the same 'set' yourself, train/practice/play... results will surprise you) 3- Administer POSITIVE self-talk (focus on the things you wanna achieve, NOT the things you don't want to. say, "I CAN do this", commit & go-for-it... stop telling yourself, "Don't miss, Don't miss, Don't miss"... because you WILL...) 4- Induce Composure (this will help you make better decisions in play) 5- Maintain Concentration (focus... don't allow external factors to interfere with your frame of mind) 6- Build Confidence (have faith in your own ability to make the shots that you can, and nail them...) 7- Cope with Challenges (prepare as best you can for the unexpected... hostile crowds, distraction-tactics & equipment failure CAN be overcome... but only if you 'tell yourself to') 8- Build cohesion (your mates can serve to be an invaluable support group when times are bad... just remember to 'give some back') There's more to it than (just) this... but it's a good place to start . We'll keep this up if you're interested... Cheers, punchclear
Hi Ricefield, Sorry to hear that. The root to your problem is that it started from the day you started training. I am sure there is no MINDFULNESS in your technical skills training and worst is if you are doing strategic drills. If you have no Mindfulness in your training how are you able to bring your training into the competition. Peak performance means bringing your actual training into the game whether during competition, friendly matches or competing with your own training mate. Application of mental skills during competitions is a little too late already. Hope you understand Happy work out
To Trainedtotrain, This is very discouraging and shouldn't come out of the mouth of a coach/advisor. To Ricefield, There is never too late in my dictionary. Ricefield, you can always perform mental games just before you sleep! If you know your mistakes/weaknesses, do the mental drills on bed just before you sleep. You will be surprised how much you can improve in just a few weeks. In addition, there is a warm up exercise that can improve your game too. Normally, we swing both hands backward or forword together in small circles and big circles. Now, you need to do a crossed swing of circles, i.e. right hand up & left hand down; and reverse the swing constantly i.e. right hand down and left hand up. This will improve your left and right brain coordination; therefore, this will improve your performance as well. Thanks, Quintessence
Hi I think Trainedtotrain is not trying to discourage him/her, he is trying to point out that Ricefield and his teammate should always be mindful on their technical training, example when u are in the court, doing a smashing, we must sense that our racket face is open an heard the sound upon hiting isit direct impact etc. he mention apply mental skills during the game is too late, i think he trying to say before the game or like what quintessence said always do it before you bed or whenever your are free. imgine how you take your opp smash, defend and try to simulate the impact and sound when u hit the shuttle or even try to simulate the specator cheering. So when you are in actual game , u will be more clam . thanks
Dear Mr Quintessence, I am truly sorry that you do not understand my point, my point to Mr Ricefield is that mental skills must be trained together with the technical drills during training. Eg : Ricefield is doing a dropshot from backcourt, his trainer is doing a netstab, Ricefield is going in with his plyometrics to tap the shuttle. (physical) In his mind, he will make the jump to slice that shuttle in order to have a deep drop, going in with a recovery foot to the mid backcourt and leap forward to tap that shuttle in which he have anticipated it. (mental) You see if every single movement is going in his mental he is actually having deep focusing. This I am sure he can continue to play better and will NOT go into CHOKING. The more he concentrates in what he is trained to do he will not realise he is competing. What he could feel is that his heart rate is rising, he is regulating is breath, he is feeling good leaps from his legs in coverage and offensive engagements and delivering shuttles to where he sense correct. Mr Quintess additional warm up is good, however it must be practice throughout every training and not only before a tournament. You should not use such hash words to someone you don't even know. I am not discouraging him at all. I am here for the second day and I have gone thru the threads and nothing have captured my eye. I wish to impart my knowledge to the community as I know I cannot bring along with me when the time comes to leave this world. My sincere appologies to everyone in which I at my course of help did hurt, discourage, slander or offended unknowling.
