Pressure

"The wind blows strongest at the top of the mountain." - Stefan Edberg

David Hemery wrote in Sporting Excellence that with evenly matched teams, the one most likely to win is the one that handles pressure. Pressure degrades performance. Handling it well means less drop off from pressure. 

In our "core four", focus on skill, strategy, physicality, and psychology, meaning resilience or handling pressure. 

Former PGA pro golfer Lee Trevino explained, "pressure is playing a $5 Nassau with $2 in your pocket. 

Ask "how can I learn to play under pressure?" Three 'simple' ways are:

1) Sport psychology training like Jason Selk's "Ten-Minute Toughness" which involves controlled breathing, identity statement (who I am), mental highlight reel, performance statement (how I play), and additional controlled breathing. 

2) "Optimize activation" by using "pump up" or "calm down" music according to your mental needs. 

3) Mindfulness training decreases stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, and decreases heart rate variability. 

Part of handling pressure is "playing present" to focus on the 'here and now' to make the 'next play'. 

Women have long been underestimated. Tennis great Billie Jean King accepted Bobby Riggs' challenge before an Astrodome crowd and ninety million television viewers. King dispatched him 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

 

Pressure is a privilege. Bad teams have no expectations and no pressure. Be thankful for the opportunity to perform under pressure. 

Lagniappe. "Fast hands"