(By Larry Hodges)
Between players of roughly equal levels, matches are almost always won or lost on one of two things: sports psychology and tactics. Why?
- How well you play is mostly set by your mentality. There’s no magic secret about this; if you played great in the past, then unless you are injured or out of practice, the only thing keeping you from playing the same is your mental state. When you play a great match, remember your mentality in the match. If you repeat that, the rest falls into place.
- How well you take advantage of your playing level in the match is set by your tactics. If you use your shots to their maximum tactical value, you’ll maximize your chances of winning. Don’t get over-complicated; to use one of my favorite sayings, “Tactics isn’t about finding complex strategies to defeat an opponent. Tactics is about sifting through all the zillions of possible tactics and finding a few simple ones that work.”
So, while most players prepare physically for a match, it’s the mental aspect that’s more important – both the mentality and the tactical thinking.
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