Rocket League players have all experienced the phenomenon of playing with unstoppable precision one day and whiffing countless touches the next day. Some players are fine with that, but if you are looking to rank up consistently, you'll need to play consistently. The definition of consistent play changes with each rank. A consistent Silver player just needs to minimize whiffs, but a consistent Champion needs to be able to place shots and passes with accuracy and understand rotation as a science to avoid double commits. However, no matter what the baseline of consistency is in your rank, there are a few measures you can take before hopping into a ranked playlist to ensure that your play is consistent with your current standards.

Warm Up with Free Play

Adopt a different warmup regimen from your training regimen. Everyone trains the glory shots. There's nothing quite like the burst of adrenaline after hitting a spinning redirect or a double touch. The reality is you may get one or two opportunities per game for something incredible, so those types of shots shouldn't be your focus as you warm up for gameplay. Most of your pressure will come from traditional shots and power shots on net and there's nothing quite like the deep well of shame after missing an open net when your power shot sails into a crossbar.

So, if you want to improve your consistency in ranked, you should practice power shots and power clears prior to queuing. Just go in to free play and spend a few minutes hitting the ball as hard as you can. This warm up routine will ensure that muscle memory is fresh and on point to make sure that your power shots and power clears don't fail you when you need them.

The clip below shows Team Dignitas’ own Pierre "Turbopolsa" Silfver warming up his car mechanics and hitting the ball with power from as many situations as he can prior to starting his search for a game. If the one and only 3-time is humble enough to know he needs to warmup the foundational skills before playing, you should be too.

Start with Unranked

Once you've had time to warm up your core mechanics it's time to translate that to gameplay, but you still don't want to jump straight into a competitive environment. Your best bet is to start with a game or two in unranked. This will allow you to warm up reactions, reads and rotations, and applying those at game speed without the pressure of ranked.

If you're on comms with a team, make sure you're calling plays as you normally do. If you're solo queuing, rotations simply won't be as clean as they are in ranked, but that doesn't give you the go ahead for ball chasing. Additionally, even though these games will not affect your rank, you shouldn't be freestyling on your opponents either. Play these games with as close to the same style as you would with ranked, because that’s the mindset you’re trying to foster.

Take a Break After a String of Losses

Even if it's for five minutes, that can be enough to clear your mind and reset your tilt. Just going to a favorite custom training helps. Losing sours the mood. Maybe not one loss, but multiple do. A common rule that many players follow is to take a break after a string of three losses. Whether you play with a team or solo, taking a break can help reset the mood and get the focus back to where it needs to be. If you solo queuing, go get some fresh air, do the dishes, or even head to your favorite custom training or free play and hit some bangers. If you're with a team, go play a game or two of Dropshot to reset your tilt.

Pregame Ritual

Many professional athletes have a pregame ritual. Notable examples of this include the LeBron’s signature chalk toss prior to games, though he gave that up recently. Sometimes it can be hard to separate these rituals from warming up, but it is easy to determine an elaborate free-throw routine doesn’t actually do anything physically to help with the upcoming shot. One of the more outlandish examples of a professional's rituals can be found with tennis legend Rafael Nadal. Before each play he towels off his face and picks at the back of his shorts. He has even said that he likes to take a cold shower prior to his matches.

Whether the ritual is based in theatrics or superstition, studies have shown that they can actually help. These rituals provide an element of control to an activity where control may not otherwise be in your hands. This increases confidence and subsequently lends to legitimate performance improvements.

In her study “Keep your fingers crossed!: how superstition improves performance”, Lysann Damisch, after performing several experiments, found that “activating good-luck-related superstitions via a common saying or action (e.g., “break a leg”, keeping one’s fingers crossed) or a lucky charm improves subsequent performance in golfing, motor dexterity, memory, and anagram games. This measurable increase in performance is because superstitious activities improve self-efficacy, or the belief in one’s own ability to perform certain activities at a required level. Improved self-efficacy “contributes to motivation…” and therefore also contributes to how much effort is exerted in that activity.

A personal ritual of mine is to get into lounge clothes and slippers before I play. My reasoning was always that if I’m uncomfortable or cold I can’t play at my best. At this point I do it as much for those thoughts as it feels unnatural to not do it after so much conditioning with those habits.

If you don’t have a pregame ritual maybe it’s time to develop one. Who can argue with results like those of Lebron James and Rafael Nadal?