Freddie was playing really well during the state championships.  Out of his 3 events, he just finished up his first event with very good result and was playing in his second event.  He was next up against Ricky, a rising-junior-star.   Freddie fought hard but in the end, Freddie lost a close battle 3-2 in games.  Despite losing, Freddie was happy with his performance and was pumped for his next match.  Just then, the unthinkable happened.  Freddie accidentally looked at the score sheet and saw that Ricky’s rating was 300 points lower than his!  Oh, Freddie just realized that that loss might have costs him 50 points!  Fuming with anger at the loss, Freddie went outside to let off a little steam.  Frustrated with the rating points lost, Freddie contemplated dropping out of the tournament.  After some thinking, Freddie decided to continue playing the tournament; however, his attitude was bad the rest of the day.  Freddie was just irritable and on edge the entire day.  With every loss, Freddie just seemed to play worse and worse. 
 
So what happened here in our story?  Freddie was playing great all morning in his first event and was pleased with his performance against Ricky.  What happened?  Freddie fell into the trap that many US players fall into…  He allowed the rating to influence his mood swing.  Ratings really don’t mean anything.  Most ratings are inaccurate.  Focus on your performance not on your rating and you will be playing better and have fun at the same time!