mental training

Thomas McCann Asked 14 years ago

Do you believe in the importance of mental training. If you do could you tell me how to do this.

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Thomas,

Mental training is extremely important.

It is too big a topic to cove in one question, but here are some basic tips.

You need to practice putting yourself under similar pressures you would have in a match.  Set these situations up in training as often as you can.  It is really difficult o recreate them exactly but the more times you are put into a situation, the easier it is to cope with it.

To play at your best you ned to be relaxed and calm.  In a match situation, if you find yourself strssing about the situation, you need to step away and do something like taking a breath to calm yourself and get your composure back.

As I said this is a big topic.  Take a look at other Ask the Coach questions under the topic of "Mental Preparation".  You will find a lot of other useful tips there.