Make the Most of Your Skills
Jennifer Mast
1/16/2008

A volleyball coach once watched me play a match at a table tennis tournament where I was one of the top players. After the match he told me that I had all the tools, all the skills, I needed to win against most of these players. The only reason for me to lose was if I didn’t use these tools in the best way possible. So, I then went out and… lost to a player rated almost 200 points below me. I didn’t lose because this player had more or better tools than I had. He didn’t have a better forehand or backhand, better footwork, or more consistent shots. I lost because, like the coach had said, I didn’t play in a way that enabled me to use my tools, my strengths, to their full extent and to my advantage. In other words, I didn’t play smart, didn’t think.

This just goes to show that a player has to have his head in the match in order to win. This means to really focus on the match, to not just go through the motions and allow your opponent to dictate the points of the match. It means to seek out strategies and game plans where you dictate the points, where you find a way to use your strengths to your best advantage, and where you pinpoint your opponent’s weaknesses and use them against him. My problem was that I had assumed that as long as I put all my effort (physically) into the match, and since I was the better player, I would come out the winner. I did not, however, really focus on the match and focus on using my strengths in the best way possible. So, my point is this: believe in yourself and the skills that you have; know that you can win, but also know that you will have to put your effort into thinking how you will win. How will you make the most of your skills in this match? In a match where two players are on about the same skill level, whoever can best answer this question will be the one that wins.

[Playing Tips.]