Mental Preparation

My whole life is based around getting ready for the crucial matches at important tournaments. This sometimes makes it harder to mentally focus on the game and problems at hand. Too much thought can lead to mental fatigue. This in turn makes you tired and take your focus away. Even though I have plenty of time, I still feel that, after my morning practice and thinking about my match, I like to concentrate on something completely different up to an hour or so before the match. This amount of time spent preparing makes it possible for a club player to go through the same process. I generally start by motivating myself so that I am ready to enter the physical battle ahead.

Then I think about my game and the subtle differences I need to be aware of relating to my opponent and his strengths and weaknesses. Next, as I am stretching and the match is getting nearer, I try to forget about everything and just enjoy the feeling of playing squash. If I am nervous I allow it to happen. I have found the worst thing to do when nervous is to shut it out and ignore it. It will only come back to bite you. Allow the feeling of nervousness take it normal cause. Within a few rallies this feeling will go. If you deny your nervous feelings they will stay with you for the whole match. A good point to remember is that we all started playing this game out of enjoyment. Never lose sight of that fact.