Recently I was playing in beach volleyball tournament in Manhattan Beach, CA. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the wind was lightly blowing, the players were fairly pleasant and the tournament director was organized and friendly. The logistics of the situation couldn’t have been better.
My partner and I started off great. We won the first 3 games of pool play – easily. We lost the last game, but were not worried, we had just hit a bad spell. We had plenty of time to rest before the play-offs began.
Although our first match was against a tough team, we were not worried. We had practiced and were prepared. In fact, we were neck and neck the whole game. It was a game to 28 and it was near the end of the game. The score was 28 serving 27. They were serving. Now the goal in this type of situation is to stay in the moment. This is what I teach. Don’t think about winning or losing, just stay in the moment. My partner and I were about to receive serve. I was in the moment, but at the very last second I thought to myself “I hope I don’t shank it like I did last time”. And wouldn’t you know it – she served me and I shanked it just like I envisioned.
Needless to say, I was a tad upset. I know these theories, and at the last second ruined it. I needed a solution. Next time, before she serve, I will turn my back, take a nice long and deep breath and visualize the perfect pass. Now that will give me some ZAMitude. I’ll let you know how that works.
Z-Tip: When is a stressful situation, take a deep breath and think about what you want, not what you’re trying to avoid.