STAYING MOTIVATED WHEN PLAYING WEAKER OPPONENTS

A European post player recently contacted me online regarding a situation that is very common ... difficulties encountered when playing a weaker opponent. This player told me that he has a problem with motivation in such games, adding that it is easier for him when going up against stronger players, as opposed to weaker ones.

I asked him to consider if he has any thoughts as to what is happening in these situations that creates the problem. Here is part of our conversation.

I have a problem with motivation when I'm playing with a weaker team. When I play against strong and of good players, it's easier. What is the key? Where do I look for motivation?

That is a good question. I actually hear this quite often from players I work with. ... Another way of looking at it is to ask: What is your goal in this game? For example, if a player says his goal is to win and he thinks the opponent is weaker he says to himself ... "Okay, I only have to play so hard to win and not harder than that." That might create the problem you have been experiencing. To find the proper motivation it can help to figure out the MOST USEFUL goal to set for yourself.

Well I think my problem is the fear of making a mistake. 

This is also something I hear quite often. I observe that many guys play - at least in certain games - with the goal of NOT making any mistakes. Would you agree that in this case, a player is probably not going to play at his best level?

Yes, I know. But....

But??

It is not easy.

Sure. I find the main reason that players play with this goal in mind (even if they are not aware of it!!) is the fear that if they make a mistake the coach will take them out of the game.

And it might be true that the coach will take them out - but you can NOT control what the coach will do and to worry about it is to spend your energy in the wrong place.  I have talked with NBA players who also have had this problem... and kept missing shots in games for this very reason. They got themselves very stressed and this affected both their mind (when you are worried your mind is not as free to stay focused on the moment to moment action of the game) AND their body (when you are tight you are not going to get a fluid shot off or successfully get past your defender).

For this reason it is VERY important to have a clear goal for what you WANT to be doing ... NOT what you DO NOT want to be doing (like NOT making mistakes. For example, a player might set as a goal "I want to be more patient and trust myself with decisions when I have the ball" ... or "I want to focus on the quality of how i shoot."

So what I am saying to you is that motivation is always about finding the BEST goal for the situation. I hope this helps