April 2, 2018 - Arrange Practice Partners in Advance
Think of all the times you've gotten a great warm-up, and then played great. Now think of all the times where you showed up at a tournament, a league, or just to play matches are your club, and never felt warmed up, never really got started, and so played poorly. Why did that happen? A key here is that part about not feeling warmed up. Do you think you have a better chance of playing well if you warm up with someone you feel comfortable warming up with, or by randomly doing so with whoever just happens to be available when you arrive?
So why not take control of the situation and make sure you always get a good warm-up? It's simple - arrange in advance with someone to meet at a specific time, and then you assure yourself a good warm-up, and maximize your chances of playing well. Doing this for tournament and important league matches should be no-brainers - of course you should do so for those matches! But why not do it for practice nights as well? Then, after getting that great warm-up, you'll be ready to face anyone at the club, and play your best.