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  1. News
  2. What to do when your partner loses his mental?
💬 Discussion 💬

What to do when your partner loses his mental?

2022 commentsu/ChrisOuzou1w ago
Played a game today against similarly skilled opponents and I think im marginally better than my partner. He had a tough start to the game hitting the net a lot/missing easy balls, and our opponents started targeting him and icing me out of the game. Eventually during the 2nd set he basically lost his head and it got way worse, I was still trying to be supportive but it was hard to do anything about the situation if I don’t even get many balls to play - I felt myself getting frustrated also because of my lack of influence on the game/my partner hitting so many unforced errors. This was a competitive game, what would be the best course of action if I find myself in a similar situation again? Is there anything I can do?
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Comments (22)

u/karlitooo1w ago
Water break, “hey they’re targeting you are you open to talking tactics?”  Suggest he plays stupidly safe and be annoying to them, endless lobs and let them risk a smash rather than trying to play low to net. Offer to take responsibility for riskier winners because he’s gonna be tired from defending so much more than you are.  Don’t try to “fix” his energy, keep it calm but upbeat, ask them to try to call opponents position more as it disrupts self talk. Celebrate your own winners and low five every point either of you make
30
u/Neighbourly1w ago
I really hate when I'm playing shit and my partneer is like hey just keep the ball in. Like wow, I never thought of that. Just me of course, maybe this works for others.
20
u/karlitooo1w ago
Yeah good point, me as well. I think in a tactics chat (if they agree to discuss) acknowledging they’re being targeted and suggesting a tweak helps. Excessive lobbing works at lower levels.  One time what fixed my headspace when being targeted was my teammate just said, “their cross court player is targeting you so lets swap sides and see if it disrupts their style”. In hindsight I was just outclassed on the left and giving my teammate more balls was logical.
4
u/fateosred1w ago
Are you allowed to switch sides when receiving serves aswell?
1
u/HuevosRancheros_1w ago
Only between sets
1
u/DiminishedGravitas1w ago
I'm this scenario your partner feels weak, like prey running from predators. The problem is your opponents don't fear him, so they don't respect him. You must change that. Tell your partner to strike every ball he gets with the intention of hitting the opponents in the soft spots of their bodies. This experience or fear of physical pain will quickly and involuntarily, in your opponents minds, associate your partner with a feral beast that must be approached carefully, disrupting their flow and getting you out of the fridge and back in the game. If available at your club, for a snack between the sets, your partner should partly consume a raw fish or a small mammal, (alternatively a hot dog) by biting through the skin into the juiciest part of the animal, so that some viscera is deposited on his chin and a reddish hue affected on his teeth. The prey should be abandoned after 2-3 bites to avoid satiation. This will both reinforce the image of an apex predator and fill your partner with the primal energy to dominate the cowed opponents.
6
u/dirtydansie1w ago
This is the only correct answer
3
u/prianka_426d ago
Omg I’m dying “alternatively, a hot dog” 😂😂😂
2
u/Ok-Faithlessness83181w ago
Move away from Australian formation to standard.
4
u/ChrisOuzouOP1w ago
I’m left handed, I don’t think I’ve played on the left side of court for about 100 games now 😅
2
u/Ok-Faithlessness83181w ago
That can be a challenge!
1
u/Neighbourly1w ago
nothing you can do. Just don't start talking. If you must, IMO try to focus on one specific thing (like hey that guy misses a lot of forehands) so instead of focusing on how badly you're losing, you focus on hitting to that guys forehand.
4
u/LoneKnight251w ago
Not much you can do during the match tbh, if its on going thing just stop playing with him
3
u/Percevaul1w ago
Focus on specifics. "Let's attack their right side", "Let's lob every serve parallel", "let's rush the net", "reset with lobs to the middle". You need to try to break the funk. If that's not possible, accept it and move on to try and do you best. Reconnect or debrief after the match is over (or the following day).
3
u/Creative_Election2881w ago
First try to keep motivate him, like when he make an erorr say “ it’s nothing, keep up, we still in” let him you support him, because maybe what makes him more intense is the feeling that he makes a lot of errors. Second thing talk tactics, where to play, which shot, safe or hard, middle the court or backhand of someone.
2
u/Klutzy_Anxiety_11175d ago
What a great problem everyone is experiencing. Stay positive but keep it simple. #1 Don’t overload your partner with advice mid-match. # 2 Between points, reset him mentally. Always focus on next action and movement. #3 Accept that good opponents will target your teammate. Take more responsibility!
1
u/Weak-Atmosphere-70643d ago
>
1
u/ComprehensiveShirt286d ago
This literally could have been written about me yesterday. In fact until you said you were left-handed I wasn't convinced it wasn't about me 🤣 I played my worst game ever yesterday....couldn't get my timing at all, was missing all types of overheads, easy put-away volleys, double-faulting, head completely gone. The whole way through my partner was so nice, really encouraging, telling me.just to play my own game and it will come. But the truth was I was so in my own head that nothing he said for good or bad was going to pull me out of it, I was just in totally the wrong headspace. I think in extreme cases like this it's better to be philosophical and accept that sometimes you can't pull your partner out of a bad spot, or at least that was my experience yesterday 😅
1
u/Independent_Art53011w ago
happens to everyone at some point. best moves when your partner spirals: keep your tone calm, short positive cues only ("next one", "we got this"), never analyze mistakes mid-match. between points walk to the net together, low five even after errors. small physical reset stops the downward spiral. tactically: when opponents ice you out, force yourself into the rally. cross over to take balls in the middle, take risks on returns, basically refuse to be invisible. once you're hitting again pressure shifts off your partner. after the match, never bring up his bad games unless he asks. partners remember support way more than tactics 🤝
1