too nervous during match

Victor Huiman Asked 15 years ago

Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to relax and loosen up before a match. The thing is that when I play my first match of the day on a tournament I don't move at all and stand up too straight, and it's very difficult for me to avoid this since I'm very tall and tend to get really nervous. Thanks

Alois Rosario Answered 15 years ago

Hi Christian,

One thing that you can do to help is to do a really vigorous warm up.  Before you play your first match you shuld be really sweating.

You can start with a physical warm up of 5 to 10 minutes.  If you need some ideas there are plenty in <a href="http://www.pingskills.com/table-tennis-dvds/training-secrets-revealed.php"> Trainig Secrets Revealed</a>.  Something that is going to get the heart rate up for an extended period of 5 minutes is good.

Then do an extensive hitting warm up.  Do some training footwork drills that will again help to get the heart rate up and get rid of the tension in your legs. Progress through to playing some practice games for 10 to 15 minutes.  It is important that when you play your first point you are really ready to play it.

Getting the heart rate up will also help with the nerves.

During the match think basically about your tactics for each point.  As difficult as it is focus on your tactics rather than the score.

Good luck Christian.