Help with a self-diagnosis?

[Gatoray]

Ok, so I have an issue. First some background: I main Peach. I like to pretend that I actually main Ness and that he's a top tier character, but I stop pretending when it really matters. I also play Zelda and Ganondorf on the side because they're fun. I've been playing with a competitive mindset for just over a year now, trained on online netplay and slowly took it to the real world and attended some SSS events.

Now here's my issue. I can sum it up like this. I put in all this work to get them to kill %, get the kill, then what seems like out of the blue, I just get upsmashed, tippered, or dumpstered to death. There is a particular style that I cannot seem to adapt to; it's similar to a shark, they just wait around and fish for kills. The sad part is that I have the knowledge to know what moves they're looking for and I still get hit.

Now let me do some self assessment, here's the stuff I know are the cause of my problem:

1. I need to work on spacing
2. I need to work on my movement and tech skill (since Peach has the highest traction in the game, sometimes it feels like I'm walking on glue)
3. I need to bait better.
4. I need to be more patient.
5. I need to get rid of bad habits (Peach's Dsmash and I are in a love affair and I can't let go).

So, besides the obvious that has been stated above, is there anything that I'm oblivious about to this sharking style? It only seems to be a real problem when I'm against Fox or Marth (for reasons I'm aware of). Also, any tips for practicing switching play styles on the fly? Like how do I mentally shift gears between different adaptations?

 

[♡ⓛⓞⓥⓔ♡]

Improvement on things like spacing comes over time so it's good to be patient. Try to overshoot your approaches, for example try to dash attack "behind/beyond" them if you think they will dash dance punish you. If you can push them near the ledge and take space you are in an advantage. Secondly, use turnips to force your opponents to approach you instead. In everything that you do, observe your opponents and see how they react. This is how you learn to recognize patterns they have (for example what happens when you overextend your dash attack). The observation of your opponent becomes much easier once you become more confident technically. Think your brain as a computer. The less focus and effort (RAM-memory) you have to use to technical things like movement, the more RAM-memory is available that you can use to observe your opponent. Learn to move as fast as possible after float cancels and work on spacing your fair (it has a great hitbox). Unfortunately, Peach is a relatively slow character who loses in theory to camping (especially if Fox can force her to approach). Whatever you do, remember to always have playing. If playing one character feels arduous, switch characters. In regards to developing your patience, in matches, try stopping moving completely at times and simply stare at your opponent (with your character), see how they react.