VictorB
* Ace Member *
Hey gang, just wanted to put this out there for discussion, since I'm positive that there are others having the same confidence issues that I do.
A little background for my case first. This is my first full season playing open division only. No, I'm not incredibly highly rated - 945 at time of this post - but I've been rated as high as 965 in the past, and I cashed every MA1 tournament i played last year so I thought after 12 years it was time to find out if I had what it takes to really get better and become consistent enough to work my way up in open. My end goal is to be a regular high level competitor in open masters in 5 years time.
I've always felt like I have the skill, but confidence is lacking when I'm trying to get in tournament mode. I always feel like I'm not ready to play in a big tournament, and this weekend's Mad City Open is as big of a tournament as I've ever played in. I probably should play my rating for an A-tier of this size, but I made a commitment to testing the open division this season. I've never made a great showing in an A-tier even in MA1 - but played most of the courses without much or any practice at all.
My question to pose for discussion is - What's your mindset like going into a big tournament? Do you ever really feel 'ready'? Is there even such a thing, or is it just pre-tournament nerves? I don't typically feel this way about smaller events - just go play. What can I do better to translate that into larger 2-3 day tournaments, to feel comfortable heading into an event?
A little background for my case first. This is my first full season playing open division only. No, I'm not incredibly highly rated - 945 at time of this post - but I've been rated as high as 965 in the past, and I cashed every MA1 tournament i played last year so I thought after 12 years it was time to find out if I had what it takes to really get better and become consistent enough to work my way up in open. My end goal is to be a regular high level competitor in open masters in 5 years time.
I've always felt like I have the skill, but confidence is lacking when I'm trying to get in tournament mode. I always feel like I'm not ready to play in a big tournament, and this weekend's Mad City Open is as big of a tournament as I've ever played in. I probably should play my rating for an A-tier of this size, but I made a commitment to testing the open division this season. I've never made a great showing in an A-tier even in MA1 - but played most of the courses without much or any practice at all.
My question to pose for discussion is - What's your mindset like going into a big tournament? Do you ever really feel 'ready'? Is there even such a thing, or is it just pre-tournament nerves? I don't typically feel this way about smaller events - just go play. What can I do better to translate that into larger 2-3 day tournaments, to feel comfortable heading into an event?