Beginners Tournament Tips
If you have decided that you want to try your hand at a few tournaments you are likely to be looking at a very long and hard road ahead of you. While a tournament can be a lot of fun, it can also be a huge hassle if you do not approach it with the right mindset and fully prepared both mentally and physically. However, if you are prepared then a tournament can be a great learning experience for you.
Always get a good night’s sleep before the tournament. Never try to play in a tournament after you have only gotten 2 or 3 hours of sleep. You increase the risk of getting hurt badly if you are overly tired and you really run the risk of making numerous mistakes. All of this compounded together will result in a very bad experience with a tournament.
Pack your bag for the tournament the night before. At the wee hours of the morning, you really do not want to be searching around your room looking for your tennis racquet. If you pack your bag the night before then you are setting yourself up to be successful. However, searching around for items that you need will have you leaving the house thoroughly stressed out and ready to rip your hair out before you even arrive at the tournament.
Eat a good breakfast high in carbohydrates. This will allow you to have plenty of energy to ensure that you can play a good game. If you skip over breakfast, you are going to be more concerned with your empty stomach rather than playing the best game possible.
If you are going to be at the tournament all day, you also need to ensure that you take a couple of healthy snacks along as well. This will allow you to keep your energy level up and make sure that you can concentrate on the important aspects of the game.
Always act self-confident. If you look as if you are scared, you are going to be more likely to make mistakes. Realize that you need some experience with competitions and playing against new players in order to really boost your mental strength. If you are not looking confident then your opponent may be successful in psyching you out which can really harm your game.
If you act and look confident then you are going to be much more likely to scare or worry your opponent, which will automatically give you the upper hand.
You should also take the time to prepare your outfit at least a day before the tournament. If something can go wrong it will, this means that your cute little dog will run off with your socks, shorts or even chew on your shoes.
Preparing ahead of time would ensure that you have an extra pair of shoes on hand in case this comes up and have ensured that all of your clothes are put up in a safe place where you will not have to worry about them becoming the dog’s favorite chew toy. Remember, being prepared will allow you to really boost your confidence, after all there is nothing worse than losing a match before you even start playing because you freaked out over a small problem.
As a final preparation, you should ensure that you spend some time practicing the day before the tournament. This will allow you to practice your skills and ensure that you have mastered your killer backhand before you show it off to everyone at the competition. If you are able to practice the morning of the competition even better, but be careful not to overdo the early morning practice.
You need your strength and energy for the competition itself. Always ensure that you have practiced any skills that you plan to use at the competition, because this is not the appropriate time to try out new skills that you have not had time to thoroughly practice.
