A/N: Vantage will begin the joint coverage next week since he has a busy schedule this weekend!
It is not surprise to see Eichiro choose to focus on Control Training as oppose to Strength and Agility Training. It is a challenging choice because it is usually the most difficult to achieve rewarding results. Coach Mike provides him a Control Training Menu: Step#1: Image Training, #2: Reconfirm those shots, #3: repeat the first two steps while keeping motivation high, #4: thoroughly strengthen lower body, #5: discover a way to reinforce control by own means. Another thing Eichiro was told to work on is to look up at his opponent and the court instead of his racket. In all honesty I am surprised this wasn’t addressed sooner considering it’s one of the keys to success in many sports.
But before long, Eichiro runs into a mental block after getting a bit too caught up with his control training and his desire to win. He developed a habit of losing. It only started to affect him after he felt he had reached one of the peaks of his training, after almost winning his match against a pro player (Score: 7 – 5). But after twenty-seven straight losses, the toll of the losing streak started to get the better of him and he had lost his confidence in his instincts. Eichiro needed to find a way to regain his confidence and the advise he received was to Believe in Himself. According to Coach Mike, there is no right or wrong answer but the solution is ultimately up to the individual. As it turns out, Eichiro’s solution: was to trip on his shoelace and bam, he had a eureka moment.
What Eichiro needed to do was develop a routine where he basically hits a ‘Reset’ button. In order to reset and start fresh again, he needs to take a deep breath, study his racket’s strings’ condition and resume with a clear mind. It was really cute to see him stare at his racket with adoration because it helped him find a way to break the habit. As result of this discovery, Eichiro was able to successfully win his first scrimmage match in America (Score: 7 – 5)
The being said: Eichiro is extremely ambitious player who has a consistent rate of improvement. The scariest part about him is that Alex and Ike are the only players who are aware of how little experience he actually has. The others who are spectating his match has no idea how fast he is growing.
It was nice to see a different side of Alex today, a more softer side as last week he was mostly introduced by another’s perspective. Many assume Alex doesn’t like losing and is always in a grumpy mood because of it, so it puts him on the edge. But the thing is, he is exactly the same as Eichiro and he saw that. He too is struggling with the Losing Habit. I know there isn’t much time left to be spent in the America Training Arc, but I really would like the two of them to become friends.
Next week, the promised re-match of Eichiro VS Ike! I expect Eichiro to lose this one, but it will be fun to watch regardless of the results.
