Take it easy or go hard?
Training
Sean Morrissy Asked 15 years ago
Hey guys,
I've been training daily with my coach for about a month now and I'm getting quite consistent at my drives, topspins and pushes. At least in training when I know where the ball is going to go and it comes at a similar height/spin/placemet every time.
However, I've just started playing games against the players at my club and I'm finding I'm not playing as well as I feel I should.
I'm finding I hit a lot of balls back softer than I can in training, partly because the ball can appear anywhere, partly because just before I hit the ball, my brain says: better take it easy and at least get it on the table.
So at this point, what's the best way to proceed?
Do I:
A) Hit the ball a little softer, knowing that while I'm less likely to win a point, I'll be improving my consistency.
Or...
B) Hit it hard like I usually would in training and accept that I'm going to stuff more shots up, but potentially hit more winners and gradually improve this way.
Thanks in advance!
Sean
Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago
Hi Sean,
Firstly, lets talk about expectations. When we start to train hard we think that results should come. This is not always the case immediately. I remmeber when we first started training under Mr Zhou for up to 6 hours a day, my results went down rather than up. One of the thinkgs that happens is that because we are training harder we expect better results from ourselves. This in turn puts more pressure on us when we are playing matches, which usually leads to worse results. Worse results, leads to frustrations and even worse results.
Depending on the improtance of the competiton, I would think about implementing what you have practiced. this is the way ot eventually get better at the game.
If it is consistency that you are working on then hit the ball softer and work on your consistency, but if you are working on your strokes and trying to make them stronger, then that is what you should implement in the matches.
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Recommended Video
#32 - Effective Returns
In this training plan we put together all of the different returns we've learnt and focus on producing an effective return. You should be aiming to topspin all long serves and then weighing up your options on the short serve. A good short push is a great option but you also need some variation with either a flick or a long fast push. Go out and put this training plan into action and work on improving your return.
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Sean Morrissy Posted 15 years ago
Thanks Alois, I'll try and improve my strokes during games.
The matches at the moment are certainly not serious, it's good just getting some practice at playing real games.
I had my first win today, which was good. It might've only been against a 10 year old (I'm 26), but a month ago even he was belting me.
Cheers,
Sean