How am i so bad at competition?

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So basically i am a school table tennis player who played for 2 years. My strokes are pretty decent but everytime during competiton, i dont know why but i will become super nervous, my hands will sweat alot and i just cant play like how i play during training. I will miss like 1/3 of my serves as my hands are super shakey. Can anyone give me advice on how to be mentally prepared?
 
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It takes experience to be prepared but the next best thing is go around clubs challenging all types of players and it will build your confidence in dealing with every type of player with different skills.
 
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First: already there are 3 good comments. Playing lots of competitions is what will, over time help you be more comfortable in those situations. At some point you may even excel and play better under the pressure of the competitions.

And I think what Brs said is important. If you are overly concerned with whether you win, it can cause you to play worse.

So, related story.

I used to skate ramps on online skates professionally. I remember, the first 3 competitions I went to, feeling I skated terribly because of how nervous I was. In my fourth comp, I was getting more and more nervous as my 1st run was approaching. And all of a sudden this thought popped into my head. I skated because I loved the feeling of skating ramps. I did it because it was fun. I didn’t really care how I performed or what anyone else thought of my skating. After realizing this, I relaxed, stared clowning around on the top of the ramp and totally forgot about the competition aspect.

When they counted me down for my first run, I was being a total clown at the top of the ramp. I wasn’t even ready to drop in. So, a few seconds after they finished my count, I skated over to the edge of the ramp and just jumped in. The whole run was flawless. I went for all my tricks. I didn’t hold back. I wasn’t worrying what would happen if I messed up.

As a result of being relaxed, having fun and going for my best tricks with control and power without fear of what would happen if I messed up, I skated above my level.

TT is a little more complicated because your opponent has some part in what you are actually able to do. But it is worth being relaxed, now worrying whether you win or lose. And going for your shots.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy
 
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So basically i am a school table tennis player who played for 2 years. My strokes are pretty decent but everytime during competiton, i dont know why but i will become super nervous, my hands will sweat alot and i just cant play like how i play during training. I will miss like 1/3 of my serves as my hands are super shakey. Can anyone give me advice on how to be mentally prepared?

Okay, let's just keep this simple and plain.

First:
you should realize that it's totally normal to get nervous. Even top pros get nervous.
IIRC Ma Long even takes a sip of a drink to calm down.

And then second:
focus on the game, not on the result.
Meaning: instead of focussing and worrying about the result just try to play E V E R Y (!!) ball as good and as strong as possible and try to manage to make the ball bounce once more on your opponent's side than on yours. If you manage to do that only eleven times you've already won a game. Do this three to four times and the match is yours.
;)
Lastly:
The more you compete the less nervous you'll get.
Try to find ways to help you keep your focus and feel relaxed as well, like listening to a motivating song...
 
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Lots of good advice already - couple of things from my own experience.

Try to play more matches where something is on the line. Could be just in a club, league - anything with something at stake.

Seek out unfamiliar opponents, you don't want to run into penholder with LP or an anti player for the first time in the match that matters.

Try playing at different venues - conditions vary and it in itself (bad lighting, unfamiliar floor, or table color) can add to your stress.

Incorporate more game-like situations into your training: serve and play out points without keeping score, play mini-games with score starting at 9:9 etc.

Playing 'like it does not matter' is a good trick. Also, if you are nervous because you think losing will make you look bad in the eyes of spectators etc - it won't, they really don't care. At least I think so :).
 
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"Act like you have been there" is a frequent term used in sports... but we cannot act like we have been there, until we have been there... a LOT.

Just accept the dynamics of this in your mind, adjust your expectations, and work on your competition match experience.

Better in training will eventually translate to better performance in competition matches, that is another approach, but it can take a long time for that to catch up to match performance too, so be realistic.
 
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If you lose you are just as good a person as when you win and nobody cares except you. That is a good thing to keep in mind.

Of course you care, that is not to be entirely ignored.

Just know that if you stick to it, this phase will pass. Certainly your hands won't shake so much that you can't serve!

One other thing, this is also a sign that your technique is not as good as you would like to think because it fails under pressure. The you lose confidence. That too will get better if you stick to it.
 
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Twenty or so years ago, a popular T-shirt worn by players in tt tournaments said "table tennis is not a matter of life or death, it's much more important than that".

Funny, but not quite accurate. Combat is a matter of life or death. Serious illness can be a matter of life or death. Firefighters, paramedics, police officers are faced with life or death situations. Table tennis is a game. A sport. And an exasperating game or sport to be sure.

But....as the other contributors to this thread have pointed out, practice, improved technique and experience against different kinds of opponents with different kinds of rubbers which didn't exist when I started to learn how to play competitively 57 years ago will help to disperse your presently excessive nervousness and you will bit by bit begin to gain more confidence in your ability to play competitively.

As a musician who as a child competed in piano competitions I can tell you that nervousness, but not excessive nervousness, is natural, perhaps even somewhat helpful. If you go into a musical competition with an oh well what the hell if I don't get a gold, silver, or bronze medal I'll just go out and down a root beer float or two with the lads afterwards you are not taking what you want to become at the very least competent at and hopefully excel at seriously enough.

So keep those nerves in check before a competition, remember that nobody, even world champions, plays fearlessly all the time, and keep in mind that your girlfriend will still be fond of you, your friends won't desert you, and the sun will rise tomorrow, win or lose.
 
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Play and practice with more spin. The lower the amount ofspin you play with, the easier it is for you to struggle with small changes to the ball and environment.

Too many players try to practice hitting the ball for winners in matches but I got better when I started learning to spin the ball on the table over and over. It is a really high level you have to get to before hitting the ball hard begins to seriously trump consistent heavy spin placed repatedly in the safe parts of the table.
 
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Hi there!

We already have a really big pool of good, yet simple advises. I would like to add some thoughts on that.
I'm a looper and just like many other players I'm on the offensive most of the time. Yet I struggle most of the time against lower skilled but more experienced player, who are slower than me. Or there are some players, who have some good loopdrives, that are hard to counter. There was also a guy who I met at an international championship, who did a crappy warmup with me just to shock me when the game started, because he was a godd player, but at the warmup he intentionally played like a newbie. So this is where panic starts. I get tense, I want to make all of my strokes count, all of my serves to be unreturnable and all I want to go for are easy points, with only 1-2 hits.

First: relax, the first game is only for getting the feel of the real game and your opponent. So try different shots, but do not force heavy spin, too fast strokes. Risk only one or two high-risk shots. Only play what is comfortable for you and analyse, what is bad for your opponent. Vary the placement of the ball, do some classical shuffles to see, if there is any footwork problem on the other side of the table. Try some loopkills, counterloops to test if you can overpower your opponents opening loop. But only use 80% of your full power. Always get the ball back on the table. Watch your opponent carefully, learn to read his/her movements to get familiar with it. Test your opponent if he/she can handle some difficult situations with a finisher. Be always ready, that the ball will come back. If you hit/loop hard with much tension you can not recover fast enough and your attention will turn inside and you can not focus on the opponent and the ball.

Second: Identify one to three things, that gives you an advantage against your opponent, no matter if you have lost or won the first round. Do not get (over)confident if you won the first game. These few key points that you identify will give the base of your game. Most of the time (70%) you will play those routines or balls, that will force an error or dominate your opponent. In the other 30% play something else, that gives you comfort. Soon your opponent will be less successful and you will win nearly every point in general, except some situations, where your opponent excels no matter what is happening to him/her. Do not get upset or worry about these lucky shots or good hits. Pay a compliment for your opponent for that shot.

Third: always keep relaxed. Keep up the feeling of the flow. The flow comes from your continuous movement and rythm. This can be achieved if you don't try to hit hard, keep relaxed. Just get the ball back on the other side. Keep in simple, use only a few type of shots. Stick to your plan of your game. Do not get too comfortable, do not let your guard down. Don't play slower nor faster even if you have the upper hand.

Fourth: (Equipment junkie corner.) If possible inspect the equipment of your opponent, then you know what to expect (mostly). Learn the difference against some long-pips and short-pips. Some can grab the ball and it is possible to do a push-push game, some are slippery, and you always have to play push-loop. On the other side you can see if your opponent is on the attacking side for example with T05. There is a skill required to play with T05, most of the times it is easy to force errors out of players, who have better (and more demanding stuff), that their style and level requires.

Fifth: Most of the time viciousness guides the path of the ball. So when returning the ball keep calm and place the ball first. Only go for a finishing stroke when you are absolutely 100% sure, that you can make it count. Be ready if it comes back to finish it again. In most of the cases in the first games it is safer not to kill every ball. Play it with confidence and try to force an error on an open situation, where the opportunity is served/given for you by your opponent.

Personal stories:
- I can usually beat youngsters, who are more talented than me, with simple strategy. Most of the time they hurry and force the topspin game. They only need some heavy pushes of some hard opening loops, and they will fail some hits. This is where the tension will build up and the mistakes will come. On the other hand I know I will have to keep this mental state up giving some easy balls that they can finish, with keeping my poker face, hiding the fact, that their success was my intention, because the next 3-4 points will be mine. They are way more trained then me, I can not beat them on loop to loop combat.

- Sometimes (nowdays more often), when I'm in the "flow" state I "amaze" myself. Last time I managed to recover 2 edge sots in the same game, where the opponent's drive shots bounced 30 cm (~1 foot) lower than expected. One was even on the side of the table, but I managed to solve it with two loops, that were actually winners. When you are in the flow and play around 80% of your power, you can control your shots and make some adjustments on the move.

- Keep your enemies closer, than your friends. Most of the times it is fun to play against someone, who is similar to you. But there are other players, who play pips, antispin and some quite weird setups. Play against them, do not force the game to get a point. Get the ball back, try to feel the game. Let the feeling sink in, give it time. And the next time if you face someone, simply describe him/her like: "My opponent's service is just like my friend's at the club." "She plays like XYZ, but hits better with pips." After a time, you will get used to your opponents in the first few points.

- Learn to be patient and humble. Mitigate your frustration. Try to do everyday stuff with your other hand for some weeks, soon you will learn patience and how to deal with your inner turmoils.

- Play some matches where you risk something (a drink or a chocolate or some tasty food, cinema ticket or whatever, that has some value to both of you).

Sorry for the long post. These are my thoughts and experience about the excitement.
 
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accept the inevitable. only 1 (ONE) player from a whole tournament goes home undefeated. chances are you are not that guy, so just play your best and don't worry about losing.

happened to me at my last tournament, made it to the elimination phase and i was worried about who i will play, who i defeated before, until i faced an opponent and it was clear to me that i would lose, despite all my worries. so i decided i can do without the worries and just try my best
 
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if you believe you are good enough to play and you have good skill,treat your competition as your performance, to show people what you can do.
 
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