For those of you who are preparing for our Sep 26-27 tournament, I would highly recommend that you carefully read this article and takes notes in order to mentally prepare for the competition.  I posted this article in the past, but decided to re-post it as a refresher...
 
 

 
 
 
Be Happy
 
     At tournaments, some players are very happy and others are very disappointed. 
 
Is it the winning that changes the mood? 
 
Or is it the mood that changes the winning? 
 
     It could be both.  But in this article, I would like to address the fact that staying positive and cheerful and excited will help boost your confidence and help you play your best.  I feel that often the mood, before and during the match, really changes the outcome of the match.

 
“There is nothing I can do!”
“He is just on!”
“It’s like he is on fire!”
“There is no shame in losing to this guy!”
“He is playing out of his mind!”
“He never misses!”
These are some of the common expression that I hear from low-rated players at tournaments.  When I hear these comments during matches from a student, I know that the student has already mentally conceded the match.
 

If you are an offensive players, there are 2 aspects of the game that you need to master.
 
 
The first aspect is…   Creating the opportunity to attack first.  I hear many club players telling themselves throughout the night, “Just use your attack!”  Well that sounds nice, but how are you going to create the opportunity.  There are several ways.
1. Try to loop long serves
2. Try to loop half-long serves
3. Try to serve short and push short so that your opponent can’t easily loop first

I often ask my students to analyze their tournament matches.  Our conversations often sound like this...
 
Samson:    "William, why did you lose to Bob?"
William:     "Because Bob is a good player."
Samson:     "Could you be more specific?"
William:     "I lost because Bob has an amazing forehand."
Samson:     "Could you please be more specific?"
William:     "Everytime Bob hit a forehand, I couldn't return the ball.  Is that specific enough?"

Learning table tennis begins with…   starting the right way.
Before you develop many bad habits, consider hiring a professional coach to guide you on your journey.  The coach will give you the needed tools to reach a high level as well as advice on tournament, practice routines, and physical training.  It is much easier to start learning a new stroke than it is to change an old habit.
 
Developing solid strokes starts with…   moving the right way.

 
 
In order to maximize your performance, it is important that you learn how to win and that you learn how to lose?
 
You might be thinking to yourself, “Samson, if you saw me at the last tournament, then you would say that I already have enough experience losing!!!”
 
Actually, that’s not what this article is about…
 
This article is about the post analysis of a match.  Sitting down in the bleachers after an awesome win and knowing what to do next.  OR…   Sitting down in the bleachers after a terrible loss and knowing what to do next.

During practice, most players focus 100% on themselves.  They think in detail about their own footwork, their own strokes, and their own serves.  They rarely consider the opponent.  In tournaments, they are mistakenly focused on themselves wondering why they can’t win.
 

 
Before the start of each point, you should encourage yourself with 1-2 things such as…
“After my serve, I need to keep attacking first and rally mainly to his backhand or middle.”
“I need to keep my feet moving and stay close.”
“I need to move into position and loop his long serve, if he serves short, then I need to be ready to receive to his backhand.”
 
After the point, you should step away from the table, and give yourself a quick recap of what just happened, such as…

In table tennis, there are five different ways to win points…
 
1. Speed
2. Spin
3. Placement
4. Variation
5. Consistency