Friday late matches

I just got home from playing a very unfocused match.  It was filled with errors.  Every drive and return of serve landed short.  Every boast hit the tin.  I saw the ball late and lost focus of it when I swung at it.  I did not bend my knees and did not move nimbly.  I sucked!  So WTF?

Erick said I am a better player than my opponent and I think so too, but I have to show up and play my game.  So now I must search for the problem and find a solution.  The day started uneventfully and I had good sleep last night.  I ate one croissant, some noodles, and drank 2 cups of black teas and a glass of soy milk.  I took my son to the nurse for a immunization visit and then to school.  I had the afternoon to work and read until after school pick up.  During pickup I ran into another parent who's also a business associate.  We chatted about business and summer events in our lives.  Then it was off to the courts with my son to play my match.

As soon as I arrived the situation felt off.  The pro was rushing me to warmup.  The time was 4:20, ten minutes before the time I thought was the match start.  The ball was new and I felt uncomfortable with its bounce.  I felt intimidated by my opponents low drives.  I had planned to get on the machines to fire up the quads before I got on the courts.  That didn't happen.  During warmup I couldn't get into the rhythm.  My drives were already off and I was already flatfooted.  I started the match anyway thinking I will get into it as the rallies went on.  The errors started from the beginning, but the rallies got shorter after the initial HR spike.  I can't say if my accuracy was better at the beginning or not, but I know it wasn't there for sure.

Looking back at my league matches, I lost badly in matches where I showed up late and rushed on court.  I guess this is a problem for everyone, but it must be fatal for me.  I had two cups of caffeine today which is more than my training allows for.  I did not warm up my heart rate and my muscles.  I think all these are factors in my bad performance.  The new plan is simple:

1. arrive early
2. warm up HR and muscles (machines and bike, or agility drills)
3. stretch before match
4. only 1 cup of caffeine on day of match
5. avoid Friday matches that clashes with son's school and pickup

I just have to be methodical in shaping this pre-match preparation.  If this doesn't work I'll just have to adjust it next time and find something else that works.  I have a match tomorrow so that will be when I put this plan to the test.