Confidence

Roger Willoughby Asked 16 years ago

How can you go into a match with confidence especially when you're playing better players? Do you guys use a pre-training routine for mental toughness & confidence?

Thanks

Roger UK

Alois Rosario Answered 16 years ago

Hi Roger,

This is a big question.

The main thing to focus on during a match is how well you are seeing the ball.  Then who is at the other end does not matter.

The other thing to think about is making sure you are focusing on what you can do.  Work on playing YOUR best table tennis.

Think about the thing that you can influence. That is your own perforance.

Confidence is then about working on being able to get yourself to play your best table tennis and not about winning the match.  You can't be totally confident of winning the match because that depends on how your opponent plays, which is out of your control.

Things to consider when you are trying to play your best are of course your technique which is already learned and you can't change during a match.

The other thing to think about is your anxiety level which needs a lot of training to control.  In a match you consider to be important, it will be a matter of lowering your anxiety level rather than trying to pump yourself up.