LDM had three league matches tonite at a local place... was prolly ranked bottom of table and prolly should have won the table, he went 2-1 with a 12-14 loss in the 5th set.
One match he came back from 0-2 games to win vs the number one ranked in the group, but really, he should have been 2-0 if he played efficiently. He was tight and not setting himself up well or in crucial moments mis-hit... the latter games did a lot of the same but less, and with his heavy spinning on some balls it was enough to get it done. Once LDM7 gets better fundamentals, we will do LP specific training, how to setup and open/finish vs them. Right now, he needs to get more solid first. still, LDM7 won vs a player ranked a couple hundred points higher with an overall better record vs the rest of the locals. That was not a light win.
He worked way harder than he should have if he watched his opponents' trends and tendencies more and made the effective shot decisions. he could have defeated everyone 3-0 average score of 11-7, but he seemed to want extra practice and give extra chances to his opponents. He was still tight in more points and games tonite than he wanted to be, but overall, he found a way to be loose enough to attack and land when he needed it. He found a way to get a predictable ball when he needed it. I hope he can discover more and more of this in future matches.
The loss in the 5th hurt as he was up 10-8 and did not notice me asking for timeout, and also on 11-11. I wanted to make sure he was going to serve a ball that sets him up predictably, but he played fair England and allowed deuce. At least he got himself in the position to win vs a player higher ranked. He will remember this moment and in future situations in the 5th at 9-9 or 10-10, he will either use a timeout to visualize how he will win the next two points , or play the percentages if there is no timeout remaining. This bitter moment will help him down the road.
On the contrary, he won a match 3-2 vs a difficult higher ranked player... LDM7 was leading way in front throughout the 5th in firm control of the match not getting tight, not playing brain dead, but playing loose and high percentage enough... and attacking with spin or power depending on the height of the ball. LDM7's win vs him was the coffin nail that will send that player to the next lower table. (you lose your group you have to play one table lower the next week)
LDM7 will look at the match vids and cringe a little or a lot at a lot of the nuances he did not so well (that we discussed) and that/those cringe moment(s) should serve as motivation to remediate them.
Overall, he was starting to show his improved level of training in light competitive matches (local league) which is a good sign and cause to celebrate in a small way over post match food. LDM7 knows he is tracking in the right direction and knows how things can go in competitive matches while he is in training and improvement mode.
