Activation level and anxiety

Marco Pastore Asked 8 years ago

Hi Alois, I am in trouble to find my activation level. It seems that I play better when I start the warm up feeling myself tired and not well. In this case, when I have the possibility to do a good, relaxed, and progressive warm up, it happens often that in a half hour I feel concentrated, with a good touch, and with good reaction time, and can play at my best, despite I am not a good player. During competitions, i feel often physically well before matches, but always psychologically unsure and fearful at the beginning of the match: usually I start non bad but i get worse during the match instead to play better, and my opponent overwhelms me regularly. Thats is really frustrating, my feeling is that I would disappear from the court..and I can't find a solution for this. Do you have some suggestions?

Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago

Hi Marco,

Often we do play better when we are sick or tired because we tend to relax and we have something else to worry about rather than the result of the match.

When you get further into a match you do tend to start thinking more about the result rather than the process of the game and the tactics.  That is when you tighten up.

Feeling a little nervous before a match is very natural and something that all players feel to some extent.

Using some simple breathing techniques can help.  Focus on your processes with a pre point routine that you can develop in training.  Stay with your pre point routine, especially later in the match when your mind starts to race ahead to the finish line.

Have you watched the lesson on Activation Level yet?