So you've been playing for some time now and are thinking of "moving up." You've engaged the former national number one to train you, not to mention the former number two, the former coach of the former number three, Mr. Miyage, Obi Wan and Yoda. You've done plyometrics and also spent four months at a Shaolin Temple thus you feel you've graduated to "the next level." Problem is, to get really better, you need to play with more challenging opponents. Whenever you invite the "elite" bunch at your club though, they react by looking at you up and down as if they were seeing an ant that suddenly learned to talk, then they give excuses like, "Oh, sorry, but I have my period (even though they're a guy)", or "Sorry, but I'm dead tired, and I have a torn meniscus and ACL," and then as if by some miraculous jolt of Lipovitan and microsurgery they athletically bound off their seat when invited by their peers.
So what can you do other than crafting a voodoo doll from the threads of their towel grip?
First, you have to know the motivation behind their "class A snobbery." These players have seen you rise from the primordial soup of beginnersville and feel they won't even work up a sweat playing with you. They haven't observed your progress from always missing to super smashing so they think you're still the same person with the same slow footwork, nonexistent court sense and laughable attacking game. They don't realize you've improved since then.
Understanding this is the key: since they've already formed an image of you, you have to break that image.
So if your court costume has been mainly running shorts that look like adult diapers, it's time to invest in some mid-length ones. The point is looking different so they think you also play different. So disappear for a week or two and come back with a new look. If you're a guy, maybe grow a beard, if you're a girl, maybe grow armpit hair, what's important is to make the Class A snobs stop and think: "Hey, who is this new guy/girl?"
Next, start rumors about yourself. Have your friends start gossiping that you won in a tournament and beat so and so, etc. This'll pique their curiosity and they'll be tricked into giving you a chance.
Third, bribery: offer them discounts on cell phones, treat them to delicious snacks you just happen to have with you when they're around. Have them date your kid sister or brother who's an FHM Hot Babe (maybe your brother had an "operation").
But what if you've done all you can and they still won't give you a chance? Well, try playing somewhere else where people don't know you. There are so many courts now that you can find people who, since they've never played with you before, will grade you based on your current ability instead of past reputation.
Join tournaments and have yourself classed at one level up so you get to play with people who'll bring out the best in you.
Tell your trainer that he won't get paid unless he gives you no mercy during your practice games (or give him extra if he plays for real).
Then after you've stepped up your game, the people who used to avoid playing you will start to notice your improvement (no thanks to them) and may actually agree to take you on now and then.
Before you know it: ta da da dum! You've broken through the Class A snobbery barrier!
And of course the first thing you'll do is to repeat the cycle and start turning down requests from players you consider "beneath" you, heh heh.
