Pre-match Preparation

Yesterday I took seriously to thinking what I should do to prepare for my match.  Unlike the match before where I just simply walked on the court coming from doing errands and other family responsibilities, I started preparing 4 hours before my match.  I started by repacking my squash bag.  I put my racquets into plastic bags to keep the grip from drying out.  I place shoes, shirts & shorts, socks into their own packing cubes.  I put medical tape and wraps into a toiletry case.  After everything was packed up and organized, I went to the gym.  I began with a light weights routine followed by stretching.  Then I got on an empty court to hit to myself to get comfortable with my timing and reaction.  I hit until I broke a sweat and raised my heart rate to 165 or so.  After that I went to my match.  Before my match was to start, I watched the pros play.  The pros' action was a big confidence boost.  The rest of the preparation felt good and kept a lot of anxiety about not preparing out of my mind.

Looking back at my league matches and some successful tournament matches, I can recount the bad ones were always associated with not preparing and just walking on the court straight from the street.  The ones where I played my potential, I spent time to prepare.  Like exams, I feel better when I prepare for them.