Mental Endurance

Hi Alois,

I recently played in my fist sanctioned tournament, and there are a couple of things I wanted your advice on.

Firstly, I was playing very well, until I lost my first game (round robin.) After my first loss I started playing really poorly, and lost a lot of my games afterward. It was the worst I remember playing in a long time. I lost my confidence in all of my strokes and played way below my regular level.

Secondly, I played around 7 games in 3 and a half hours. I'm in good physical shape, but my brain started to get tired and I started to lose focus on top of having lost my confidence! Thinking about tactics for the next point and remembering the proper technique became extremely difficult.

Can you give me advice bouncing back from losses, and focusing harder at the game at hand? It's a big weakness of mine. Also, I would appreciate some tips on mental endurance and keeping a fresh mind. I struggle with focusing after I've played a lot. 

Thanks,

Devin

Hi Devin,

I guess this is a common thing that happens to a lot of players.

If you feel yourself losing confidence, it is often a good idea to go outside after one of your matches.  Being inside a hall for a few hours can get you into a bot of a rut.  Going outside thens to bring back a bit of perspective.

Make sure you are eating consistently during the day.  We often forget to eat so that by the end of the day you are low in energy which will also effect your ability to concentrate.

Lastly, think about retaining your routine above all.  Your pre match routine and your pre point routine as well.