For players who share this affliction, it can be a real struggle to break out of the vicious cycle of knowing that you are prone to nerves, and then feeling them coming on and holding back your performance during a match.
So in this article, I'm going to throw a few ideas out there about how to go about lessening your own tendency to choke, if you are subject to this dreaded disease. Some of these ideas I use myself, and some I have picked up from other players, forums and even other sports. If you have something to add, feel free to email me or drop a comment in the table tennis forum.
Avoiding the Choke - Things to do in Practice
- Train hard to improve your overall standard - notice how you always have less nerves when you are playing someone below your level and you are confident you will win? So the better you get, the more opponents will be below you in level, and the less you will get nervous.
- When practicing - play for money/drinks, table hire etc to help get used to playing under pressure. Please note that I am not advocating gambling for children (or adults!) here - kids can do other things such as the loser doing pushups - good for the fitness too!
- Be realistic about your standard - don't expect to play at a higher level than you really are - also don't expect to be slack and lazy in training and then play great in your matches. You aren't going to play any better than you train.
- Train hard with intensity - so that your training is just as hard and important as your matches - this will make your matches easier to play. Your training should be focussed and intense, while your matches should be enjoyable. The matches are where you benefit from all that hard training, you should be relaxed and enjoying yourself while playing - just like when you first started - if you can remember that far back!
- Training is where you push yourself hard and find your limits and what you can and can't do at the moment - matches are where you play up to your limits, but not trying to push too far beyond them - so playing matches should be easier than doing training. If they are not, you are doing things the wrong way around!
- Remember, you've spent your time training to loop, hit, chop etc - and play a certain style. It makes no sense to do all that hard work and then go out and play another way just because you are nervous. Make the most of all that training and play your matches the same way - if you are going to lose go down playing the way that you dreamed of and have worked at - don't be too scared to do anything. Trust me, it's much better to sit back afterwards and think 'Well, I was nervous but I tried to play the right game regardless, but I wasn't good enough today,' compared to 'I tightened up and started to play too safe - maybe if I had played the way I know I should I might have won!' You'll have a much better peace of mind.
- Try to reflect on what was different between the times when you got to the quarters and semis, compared to the times you lost early on. Poor warming up, rushing to get to the match, taking early opponents too easy, etc can all help cause inconsistent performance. Even going out late the night before, or drinking too much or not getting enough sleep can all affect your level of play. If you can find a common factor in your poor performance, try to get rid of it or avoid it where possible.
- One thing I find is the more I train, and the better I train, the less nervous I get. I know exactly how good (or bad!) I am playing, and how well I will play when I get into my match. When you don't play often you never really know what to expect on any day, and this can make you nervous, since you are never quite sure how you will play on the day.
- Visualize playing matches while training - imagine that you are playing in the World Championships finals. If you do a good job, you will feel your heartbeat quicken and your tension rise as your body responds to the mental image - once that happens, practice calming yourself back down while still playing hard.