💬 Discussion 💬
Discouraged from Tournaments
I (16M) started playing Padel when I was 12 years old. Before then I wasn’t much of a sports person and was really obese for my age, but after my mom signed me up for classes I instantly fell in love with the sport to the point where I would excitedly wait for the next classes to happen. Since then I have played for 2 years straight and had lost a significant amount of weight to the point where i felt much healthier and fitter.
At one point i decided to join in a tournament with a partner of mine from practice but long story short we were the lowest ranked team out of the U16 in the tournament. We had pretty much lost in every single set aside from winning a single game. Ever since then I kind of felt sad and discouraged from joining tournaments as well as the thoughts that I would never win in a tournament from the amount of pros in my age group. I still have the love for padel in me and the urge to go play whenever I can and I would get private coaching on and off.
Are there any tips or advices I can follow to potentially get over the fear of joining a tournament??
Comments (8)
u/Kiselikrastavcic15h ago
Hey man :) No need to be discouraged because of this. Here are some points, which might help you:
- Do not try something new during a match or tournament. Stick to the basic strokes
- Think only about he point being played, not about the last or next point
- Let the opponents do the mistakes, in Padel you rarely have winner points
- Do a good warm-up, this will help you focus from the first moment
- Besides match and match preparation, I watch other people play padel. Not on Youtube, but at the padel venue near me. It is more realastic and I always try to learn something
- Maybe you can play matches, which are not part of a tournament
- Stick to the trainings :)
- Most importantly in my opinion, enjoy the game :)
3
u/LoneKnight2516h ago
Where I live you can join beginner/intermediate/advanced tournaments, are these available in your area? if yes then join lower ranking tournaments that are suitable for your level
2
u/FlatulistMaster13h ago
Life is often about being let down and disappointed in both external things and yourself.
If you learn to take that on the chin as experienced gained, and learn to enjoy experiences as they are without so much expectation attached, your life improves a lot.
And something like sports competitions that in the end are only play make for a great environment to practice that.
It’s all good, you are the only one who cares so much about your own results. And we are all in the same boat with this :)
2
u/TacticalStf15h ago
It's good to play people that are better than you. They will punish you for the mistakes you make and you can learn and improve. But if the difference is too big it's not fun at all.
It would be a lot more enjoyable if you can find tournaments on your level. Keep grinding and following lessons and play as many different opponents as possible, every opponent plays different and you have to adapt and figure out their weak points, or focus on your own strong points. Tournaments are great for this. Also if you have nerves, they will get less with every tournament you play.
What will also help is to train one on one, you can play cross court or straight and work on your consistency. Play one ball low, one high, and repeat. One at net and one at the back and practice hitting before and after glass. that way you will learn fast!
I'm at a decent level now after playing for 4+ years, but in every level there will always be better players than you. Just focus on your own improvement!
There is a lot to learn in padel, make sure to enjoy the journey!
1
u/osadon16h ago
Mindset. Try to focus on enjoying. Think of it as an oportunity to play skilled players and improve instead of a challenge to win.
1
u/Emotional-Peach-30339h ago
Yes, play more tournaments. The more games you play in tournaments the less pressure you’ll feel.
Also remember that Roger federer won 80+% of his matches but when it came to points only 53% of total points.
Always remember to focus on the ball and not the scoreboard
1