Am I ready for competition?

 Which came first- the chicken or the egg? The answer to whether an athlete is ready for competition, is equally tricky. Should I play tournaments when I am ready or do I play to get ready?  

This question has many amateur athletes and sport parents confused. “Am I of the level where I can enter into competition?” “Should I send my child for tournaments?” “I don’t want to put any additional pressure on my child” are common thoughts which come to an amateur athlete's or a sport parent's mind.

In this blog, we will try and analyse various dimensions of playing tournaments and eventually have a clearer picture on the above question.

I was recently watching a 13 year old practice while chatting with his father. The child is being coached by someone else but as I share a good relation with his father I suggested he starts playing serious tournaments. The father replied that “he is still not ready”. On this I narrated a very interesting true story to him. There was a young boy who had just started playing (not coaching) squash at a local club. After 3-4 months, he came to his mother and asked if he could take part in a prestigious tournament being held in south Bombay. His mother asked him why he wanted to play as he stood no chance of winning even his first round match. And to this the boy replied, “I am just going to make new friends” You will be surprised to know who the boy was. It was Mahesh Mangaonkar- part of the Indian team who won the gold medal at the Asian games in 2014. He is also a professional squash player and has many accolades to his name. 

👆 Mahesh Mangaonkar

  

Would you think before sending your child for his school exams till he is not ‘ready?’ Then why is it different when it comes to sports? I think kids should be encouraged to play tournaments. The intention and expectation should be very clear before participating in any competition. 

My own example would be a perfect case of why tournaments should be played irrespective of the level of your play. I started playing squash seriously only when I started participating in tournaments (at a very late age). Till then, I was playing for fun. The hunger and passion to excel came only when I saw other players play and somewhere deep inside arose a dream to play like them. It was after this that I came back and started training hard. This also opened my doors to coaching, something which I love doing. Even today, I thoroughly enjoy the adrenalin rush, the butterflies in the tummy during the start of my match, meeting the squash community, travelling to different cities, learning about their culture and understanding the squash scene there. So it is not just about playing well, it is about so the experiences I gather from wherever I go to play a tournament.

👆Myself after playing my match (smile is indicative of the result)

Before going to any competition, the agenda should be very clear. Keeping realistic expectations from your outing is very important. Remember- there is only going to be one winner in every competition. Explain you child that his performance in the competition is in no ways going to change your love for him. He is not being judged. Encourage him to have fun and learn from his experiences. 

Your agenda from competing in your first few tournaments could be-

👉 Participate to learn and gain experience

👉 To see the level of competition

👉Goal could be to reach a certain round of the tournament or come in top 8 or 16 etc.

👉Participate for fun, meet new people, networking.

Depending on your age and which stage are you in your sport; you can have any of the above goals. But make sure you are clear and realistic in your expectations from yourself or your child.

Few more questions which athletes or sport parents may have are-

👉 How many competitions should we play in a year?

👉Should we travel cities to play tournaments?

Answers to all these questions are very subjective and should be discussed with a coach or an expert. My suggestion would be an athlete must play in most local tournaments. But if he wants to get better at his sport, then he should play at least 2-3 tournaments every year outside his home city. Travelling outside your city and competing is a different ball game all together. The challenge become 3-10 fold compared to playing on home turf. Also my suggestion would be to stay till the end of the tournament (watch prize distribution). This will help you understand the skill sets required to reach the top and the glory thereafter.

Final words…..

I strongly believe to get better in your sport, you have to enter into competitions regularly. Because no matter how hard you train, converting all that hard work to results is a different ball game all together. This is why participation in tournaments is extremely crucial as it gives you that invaluable experience. With more participation, the experience keeps adding up- till you reach a stage where you are able to convert all the hard work to results. The sweetness of those wins is better than the sweetest ice cream in the world. Even if you are not pursuing the sport seriously, playing tournaments will teach many new experiences and may ignite that hunger to excel inside of you. 

Amit Gajria

Certified Squash Coach

Mumbai, India