Anti-Climax a Bump in the Road
Published: 03 Mar 2006 - 09:45 by raystrach
Updated: 06 Mar 2006 - 01:43
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For the past week or so I had been focussing on a match between me and Steven who I have been battling to beat for the past 11 months. On the night of the local competition final the earlier focus was on my three team mates who played before me. Thanks to a tremendous effort on their part and the plenty of support in between games, they all managed to win. All won in 5 games (one 10 - 9 in the fifth, one 9 - 7 in the fifth- both coming from 0 - 2 games down). It was a great team effort!
This meant my match was meaningless in terms of the outcome of the final (yes, our team won, it being the club's first pennant grade win in about 15 seasons). This made my match rather anti-climactic. My game plan went out the window in the first game as I had been concentrating so much on the previous 3 matches, trying to provide some guidance for my team mates. The second game was not that much better.
It seemed that he was playing the match in fast forward mode while my selection was on slow motion. I managed to focus a little better in the third game and was quite competitive early, but could not sustain it. A 9-0, 9-1, 9-3 result was not what I was looking for and I was very disappointed in my own performance at the time.
Apart from concentration issues, my main problem was that my backhand disintegrated. It has been my most reliable shot , but on the night, the forehand stood up quite well. The adjustnments in technique I have been making over the past two to three weeks were effective on the forehand but broke down badly on the backhand. I had another short solo practice yesterday and seemed to solve the problem, so it will be interesting to see if it holds up in my next tough match.
Fortunately there were some positives to come out of the match, beleive it or not.
At this stage it is simply a hard slog, keeping the belief that i will make the leap across to that next level. I tell ye brothers - believe!
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This meant my match was meaningless in terms of the outcome of the final (yes, our team won, it being the club's first pennant grade win in about 15 seasons). This made my match rather anti-climactic. My game plan went out the window in the first game as I had been concentrating so much on the previous 3 matches, trying to provide some guidance for my team mates. The second game was not that much better.
It seemed that he was playing the match in fast forward mode while my selection was on slow motion. I managed to focus a little better in the third game and was quite competitive early, but could not sustain it. A 9-0, 9-1, 9-3 result was not what I was looking for and I was very disappointed in my own performance at the time.
Apart from concentration issues, my main problem was that my backhand disintegrated. It has been my most reliable shot , but on the night, the forehand stood up quite well. The adjustnments in technique I have been making over the past two to three weeks were effective on the forehand but broke down badly on the backhand. I had another short solo practice yesterday and seemed to solve the problem, so it will be interesting to see if it holds up in my next tough match.
Fortunately there were some positives to come out of the match, beleive it or not.
- My movement, specially to the front court was improved (it has been improveing slowly over the past month or so).
- Also, i was slightly less intimidated by his speed than i have been. While this may not have shown in the scoreline, it is only a matter of time before this will show in my results.
At this stage it is simply a hard slog, keeping the belief that i will make the leap across to that next level. I tell ye brothers - believe!
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Replies...
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From raystrach - 06 Mar 2006 - 01:43
From Viper - 05 Mar 2006 - 12:43 - Updated: 05 Mar 2006 - 12:43
I am having a joke with you not calling you a joke. 
Besides I am sure you would squash me if we played.
Look forward to reading more of the journey.
From raystrach - 04 Mar 2006 - 14:08
thanks for that viper
i might be a joke, but i am a very determined joke.
since i started to play competitively again (11 months ago) after a few years break, in my own estimation i have gone up two levels. i have got two levels to go to achieve my goals. i have got so much to improve on, i am confident that i can do it. i am pretty sure i am on the verge of going up one more at present.
watch this space.
i might be a joke, but i am a very determined joke.
since i started to play competitively again (11 months ago) after a few years break, in my own estimation i have gone up two levels. i have got two levels to go to achieve my goals. i have got so much to improve on, i am confident that i can do it. i am pretty sure i am on the verge of going up one more at present.
watch this space.
From Viper - 03 Mar 2006 - 16:09
Thanks for the heads up last week here on the forums regarding your game plan 013 sorry I mean Ray.
Regards
Steven 
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Get him next time Ray !
From rippa rit - 03 Mar 2006 - 11:07
Well, for those who have been following Ray's see saw as he tried to regain his form, I went to watch the final match referred to above.
It was a bit of a cliff hanger final with a very disappointed opposition, who had not been beaten in a final of this kind for 7 years, so for them
From my previous report of one of Ray's matches (and this opponent was classier too) I feel confident Ray can lift his game further as he works on his speed, court movement, and ability to play a good array of shots with a split seconds notice - and that is the critical factor. His forehand looked right and, with the technique he displayed, he could have taken more advantage of moving his opponent about the court - but, he did succeed in most rallies and made his opponent work for his points, and then just one little misjudgement at a crucial time put him on the back foot. Never mind, that is OK - next time.
The backhand Ray says is his strong point - so who am I to disagree. I see it differently, though he is working on it. Preparation for all shots, until a split second before playing the shot, should be capable of executing effectively any backhand shot, ie drop, boast, lob or length (hard or soft) and if itbecomes inaccurate and unreliable something is wrong in the backswing/preparation.
Ray's opponent was young and keen, and confident, and tended to rush Ray, eg serving before being ready almost, never giving a minute to feel composed. When this happens try this -
So much of what we are speaking about is the "gut" feeling often referred to.
Keep pushing forward - till next time...
It was a bit of a cliff hanger final with a very disappointed opposition, who had not been beaten in a final of this kind for 7 years, so for them
From my previous report of one of Ray's matches (and this opponent was classier too) I feel confident Ray can lift his game further as he works on his speed, court movement, and ability to play a good array of shots with a split seconds notice - and that is the critical factor. His forehand looked right and, with the technique he displayed, he could have taken more advantage of moving his opponent about the court - but, he did succeed in most rallies and made his opponent work for his points, and then just one little misjudgement at a crucial time put him on the back foot. Never mind, that is OK - next time.
The backhand Ray says is his strong point - so who am I to disagree. I see it differently, though he is working on it. Preparation for all shots, until a split second before playing the shot, should be capable of executing effectively any backhand shot, ie drop, boast, lob or length (hard or soft) and if itbecomes inaccurate and unreliable something is wrong in the backswing/preparation.
Ray's opponent was young and keen, and confident, and tended to rush Ray, eg serving before being ready almost, never giving a minute to feel composed. When this happens try this -
- get the ball before the opponent, hold it, and do not let it go until you are ready and in position, so by the time they pick up the ball you are set - this can also act favourably when they realise that you know they are rushing you, and in turn can disrupt their concentration as you dispose of one of their game plan ideas.
So much of what we are speaking about is the "gut" feeling often referred to.
Keep pushing forward - till next time...
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i was calling myself joke! don't worry mate, no offence was taken and i did appreciate the humour - i guess it didn't come across in my reply.
in a case, i have a hide as thick as an elephant and it would take a fair bit more than that to worry me.
all that said, i do appreciate your following my blog. it is very introspective, but i guess that is the world wide web - you just have to show yourself for what you are with all the frailties and idiosyncrasies. otherwise, why would anyone care?
cheers
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