This is Episode #5 of the Expert Table Tennis Podcast with Ben Larcombe and Harrie Austin-Jones. This month we’re chatting about the mental and emotional side of our sport.

If you struggle to beat your nerves, handle the pressure of a big match or manage your crazy emotions at the table – and let’s be honest, that’s all of us, at one time or another – then this is the episode for you!

Today’s episode is sponsored by Eastfield (my table tennis equipment brand) and in particular, the Eastfield Offensive Table Tennis Bat.

The Eastfield Offensive is the bat that I’ve been using for the past year or so. Harrie also uses the Eastfield Offensive and so does Sam Priestley – on the rare occasions when he actually plays table tennis.

If you’d like to find out more about the Eastfield Offensive you can read my full review here.

If you’re a beginner (still developing a solid/correct technique), our lovely Eastfield Allround bat is probably a better fit for you right now.

• How Harrie’s summer training is coming along
• What Harrie does when he gets really angry playing table tennis
• Some of my experiences learning to manage my emotions
• Why you need to understand your own personality/character
• That you should judge your performance on your decision making
• What happened to me at JBL when I let pressure get the best of me
• What to do when you’re really nervous and anxious
• Why deep breathing can be helpful
• How briefly removing yourself from the table is a good idea
• Why you should start aggressively and be prepared to lose the first game/set if you need to
• How to use positive self-talk during your games
• Why you should “be more Paul Paulding” (and what that means)
• And loads more!

• Epic Table Tennis (Harrie’s inactive blog)
• Harrie’s Instagram
• Mental Training for Table Tennis
• The Ultimate Guide to Table Tennis Psychology
• 11 Mental Toughness Tips for Table Tennis Players (by Werner Schlager)
• Sometimes to Win the War You’ve Got to Lose a Battle
• TableTennisDaily Academy
• Eastfield Co.

Don’t forget to go and check out EastfieldCo.com (if you haven’t already). We’ve got a growing range of Eastfield bats, rubbers, blades, bat cases, and t-shirts available.

And it would be amazing if you could support this podcast by sharing it with your friends, subscribing on iTunes, and leaving us an honest iTunes Podcast review.

We’ll be back with Episode #6 at the end of August. If you have a good idea for a topic, do send me an email!

The post Beating Nerves, Handling Pressure, and Managing Your Emotions (S02E05) appeared first on Expert Table Tennis.