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!

Sponsored by… Eastfield Co.

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.

In this episode you’ll learn:

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!

Links from this episode:

Thanks for listening!

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!