Played a competitive game of squash last week. After a pretty long break.
Was playing a 14 year old. I'd played him before about a year and a half ago, when I'd just got back into the game. He was about a foot shorter then. We were playing in league 5A. He's fought his way up to league 3A since.
I won the first game easily. The 14 year old was just not concentrating. I started thinking about how I would write a post on my blog about how mental strength is a huge advantage for older, more experienced players. I promptly found myself down 0-6 in the second game. Delicious irony. I was feeling positive enough to smile to myself even as I tried to focus.
Three techniques I try while on court. I focus energy on my center between points. That helps me feel balanced and breathe deeper. I visualize fire to get the energy and competitive spirit going. When the point starts concentrate on just watching the ball, trusting my body and instincts to know where to move to and where to place the ball. Over-thinking each point is potentially fatal. Too much imagination can be an obstacle on-court. Visualization keeps the imagination out of the way.
Focusing the mind worked. I won a close game 3-1.
Let's see which league this kid in playing in next year.
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