Forgetting form during games

[Bosey03]

Whenever I take a video of me during practice, my form seems to be on point, and i can hit shots. But during matches, my footwork is in shambles and my form fails terribly and most shots dont land.

During the match itself and even after it, i realize it, but during the play i can never consciously correct it, even though ive been playing for a long time (ive been coached only by my school coach for a couple of years and haven't had any coaching since)

I know my form is on point, but during plays, all breaks down and it hurts to see match footage of my form and footwork

Please, is there any fix for this ?

 

[Wrighty67]

That’s a problem for me too - it’s slowly improving as I focus more on it while practicing

 

[NextLevel]

Whenever I take a video of me during practice, my form seems to be on point, and i can hit shots. But during matches, my footwork is in shambles and my form fails terribly and most shots dont land.

During the match itself and even after it, i realize it, but during the play i can never consciously correct it, even though ive been playing for a long time (ive been coached only by my school coach for a couple of years and haven't had any coaching since)

I know my form is on point, but during plays, all breaks down and it hurts to see match footage of my form and footwork

Please, is there any fix for this ?

Have your coach shout it out to you all the time?

I know world class players who have had this problem so you are not alone. Do your best, but don't be too harsh to yourself about it.

 

[Zeen]

Maybe it would be useful to know why your form fails.

There could be many issues, for example a lack of perception, thus being always late to the ball, rushing and getting unstable. Or maybe a lack of body tension and proper neutral positioning between balls to deal with the randomness in the match.

Fixing these two things usually helps me.

 

[dingyibvs]

Whenever I take a video of me during practice, my form seems to be on point, and i can hit shots. But during matches, my footwork is in shambles and my form fails terribly and most shots dont land.

During the match itself and even after it, i realize it, but during the play i can never consciously correct it, even though ive been playing for a long time (ive been coached only by my school coach for a couple of years and haven't had any coaching since)

I know my form is on point, but during plays, all breaks down and it hurts to see match footage of my form and footwork

Please, is there any fix for this ?

The key to fixing it is to find out what's the difference between your training and game, and then try to modify your training to be closer to the game. For example, if it's due to the unpredictability of the trajectory of the ball, then add unpredictability to your training. If it's due to in-and-out footwork while you only train for side to side, then add in-and-out shots to your training.

 

[lodro]

The key to fixing it is to find out what's the difference between your training and game, and then try to modify your training to be closer to the game. For example, if it's due to the unpredictability of the trajectory of the ball, then add unpredictability to your training. If it's due to in-and-out footwork while you only train for side to side, then add in-and-out shots to your training.

very good advise and it reminds me of a video of a sport psychologist that stated that one should approach a training session exactly the same as a tournament final.

 

[SleepyMaster]

Whenever I take a video of me during practice, my form seems to be on point, and i can hit shots. But during matches, my footwork is in shambles and my form fails terribly and most shots dont land.

During the match itself and even after it, i realize it, but during the play i can never consciously correct it, even though ive been playing for a long time (ive been coached only by my school coach for a couple of years and haven't had any coaching since)

I know my form is on point, but during plays, all breaks down and it hurts to see match footage of my form and footwork

Please, is there any fix for this ?

Everyone struggle to perform in matches as good as in training drills, or exercises.
My coach is always telling me - relax, don’t rush, imagine that this/any match is just a training drill, we did it a thousand times - try to repeat it.

Focus on the next point, instead of worrying too much about losing previous game or a rally. But make an adjustment on why you miss the table, or make an error.

For me transition from training to games was more easier, because of a lot previous competitive experience. But it’s common to people get in some sort of tilting, and in this state of mind you can forget all that you been trained for. You need to train yourself to keep emotions under control - it takes some time and amount of this time differ from person to person, and depend a lot on a personality and ability to perform under stress

 

[TackyForehand]

Unpredictability in matches is the cause. The balls are predictable during practice. And in matches, your opponent actively gives you unexpected and difficult balls. Add it to your practice and train, train, train.

 

[kase]

Correct regarding unpredictability. In training you are in position and can execute the ideal form.

In a match, if you are not in position, your body compensates for it. This is a good thing. Humans are adaptable, we didn't evolve to repeat the same identical actions every time. In nature this would lead to injuries. Instead we adjust to the circumstances. Do not try to consciously correct your form - think about the ball you want to produce and being in position for it. If you try to consciously correct your form during a game, you will overload your mind and make things worse.

You will perform better if you are able to execute something closer to what you practise. You can do this by being in better position. You will never be in as good position in matches compared to training, but there are things you can do improve it. You need to figure out what to improve to make your in-match position better. It could be any combination of the following:

• Footwork. Are you simply not fast enough? If so, you may want to either slow the game down to give yourself time to recover and move. Not in the habit of moving? This just requires training, especially if you have a sedentary job, and also improving posture and balance.
• Not getting into a neutral position after executing the previous shot. This is also a habit even pro players fail at time to time.
• Awareness of where the next ball is going. Are you watching the opponent's bat? Are you moving as soon as the ball leaves the bat, or are you waiting too long? A lot of players wait until the ball is close to the net before moving - this is too late. Most players 'anticipate', which means they will be in position some of the time, when the ball is predictable, but be disastrously out of position the rest of the time, when the opponent is deceptive or unpredictable - this is why pivoting to play a FH from the BH won't work against a lot of opponents. Unfortunately even some coaches teach to anticipate the ball, so their students never develop proper situational awareness. This can take a lot of training to develop.
• Does your training put you in match-like conditions? In training you should be making an appropriate level of mistakes for your level. If most things you do result in a mistake, it's too hard. Likewise, if you don't make any mistakes, then it's too easy. You need to be within your range of proximal development. It needs to be challenging enough to make some mistakes.
• Regarding the last two points, you should add random play to your training. This is where you and your partner start a rally and are allowed to place the ball anywhere, at a slow pace. The goal isn't to beat your partner with power, but with deception. You will both need to be very focused to avoid the trap of anticipation and fall victim to the others' deception.

 

[Wrighty67]

Correct regarding unpredictability. In training you are in position and can execute the ideal form.

In a match, if you are not in position, your body compensates for it. This is a good thing. Humans are adaptable, we didn't evolve to repeat the same identical actions every time. In nature this would lead to injuries. Instead we adjust to the circumstances. Do not try to consciously correct your form - think about the ball you want to produce and being in position for it. If you try to consciously correct your form during a game, you will overload your mind and make things worse.

You will perform better if you are able to execute something closer to what you practise. You can do this by being in better position. You will never be in as good position in matches compared to training, but there are things you can do improve it. You need to figure out what to improve to make your in-match position better. It could be any combination of the following:

• Footwork. Are you simply not fast enough? If so, you may want to either slow the game down to give yourself time to recover and move. Not in the habit of moving? This just requires training, especially if you have a sedentary job, and also improving posture and balance.
• Not getting into a neutral position after executing the previous shot. This is also a habit even pro players fail at time to time.
• Awareness of where the next ball is going. Are you watching the opponent's bat? Are you moving as soon as the ball leaves the bat, or are you waiting too long? A lot of players wait until the ball is close to the net before moving - this is too late. Most players 'anticipate', which means they will be in position some of the time, when the ball is predictable, but be disastrously out of position the rest of the time, when the opponent is deceptive or unpredictable - this is why pivoting to play a FH from the BH won't work against a lot of opponents. Unfortunately even some coaches teach to anticipate the ball, so their students never develop proper situational awareness. This can take a lot of training to develop.
• Does your training put you in match-like conditions? In training you should be making an appropriate level of mistakes for your level. If most things you do result in a mistake, it's too hard. Likewise, if you don't make any mistakes, then it's too easy. You need to be within your range of proximal development. It needs to be challenging enough to make some mistakes.
• Regarding the last two points, you should add random play to your training. This is where you and your partner start a rally and are allowed to place the ball anywhere, at a slow pace. The goal isn't to beat your partner with power, but with deception. You will both need to be very focused to avoid the trap of anticipation and fall victim to the others' deception.

Great advice 👍