At the end of the season, we are tempted to remember the last game, angry and upset by our lack of play. We could end the season that way, remembering the nightmare of being on the court but not actually being there, feeling embarrassed by our inability to perform. We could stay there in that place or we could celebrate the journey.
It is, after all, the journey which tells the story--which creates the people who are involved in it. Even though the Cal, Pa game was horrible, it does not define who we are and how far we have come. It was only a bleep in the long days of becoming better players and people.
I am amazed at the journey of the team and the young women who were a part of it. I am thrilled by their growth and their willingness to battle despite setbacks and challenges. Who would have thought at our mid-October scrimmage against Shawnee State when we were down 30 points at half time that we would win 26 games? Who would have dreamed when two returning starters went down with knee injuries from that scrimmage game that we could find a way to overcome it?
It is a testament to our seniors and their leadership.
I am grateful for Jen DeMeyer's ability to continue through her injuries and her emotional ups and downs from being hurt. She was strong enough to come back time and time again until the last knee injury then she was gracious enough to accept the role of cheering on her teammates.
I am grateful for Veronica Carman's growth as a player throughout her years here. Who would have thought her freshmen year that she would become a vocal leader? Who would have believed she would have spend hours and hours becoming a better offensive player? Who would have dreamed of her being not only our defensive stopper but our scorer as well? She did.
I am grateful for Jihan Williams and her willingness to overcome the concept of victimization to understand her control of circumstances. She determined she wanted a better relationship with the coaches and she created that. She became a stellar player after a junior year filled with frustration. She became a great player but a much better person.
These young women led from their hearts and souls. They provided the leadership the team needed and kept the team headed toward the right direction. They were not perfect . . . but then none of us are. They made some mistakes but they kept grounded and focused toward what was important. They made my job easier.
I hope the Golden Eagles can remember this season as the culmination of all experiences--of what they have learned and gained from the season. I hope they can use this success to propel them forward in the future. I hope they realize the life skills they can for the demands of tomorrow: discipline, motivation, self-awareness, responsibility, goal-setting, overcoming adversity, functioning as a unit, and hard work.
Basketball is much more than a game. It is a journey.
IHHOAGE!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
DOUBLE WHAMMIE!
As if winning the conference title was not enough, the Golden Eagles decided to go for the double whammie--winning both the conference title and the tournament championship. This was a dream they had from the first day they stepped on the court in August. It is a testament to these young ladies that dreams do come true. This was the best part for me--watching them create their dreams.
The conference tournament started on Monday with a game against Salem University who had not won a game all season. This was tough for the five players from Salem who had the character to make it through the season. Imagine showing up after being beaten up all year for the final game against the number one seed. For our part, we had to focus on being our best for the play-offs. While we didn't want to run up the score against Salem, neither did we want to become soft and forget who we were. Even though we didn't press one possession and played all 12 of our players in double-digit minutes, limiting our starters to an average of 16 minutes, we still beat them by a score of 127-25. While I understand the challenge the players for Salem had, we also had the challenge of playing hard and keeping the game in perspective. For our part, we never once laughed or displayed any type of jest at the Salem players.
On Wednesday, we were paired against our rival, WV State. I knew this was going to be a difficult task because we had defeated them on Saturday by a score of 87-54 where we made 14 of 21 three point attempts for a shocking 66.7% from the three point line. Getting our players to think that the WV State game was going to be a challenge was my biggest concern. It is difficult to get players to be prepared for an opponent after defeating them so easily, yet I knew from 20 years of coaching experience that this was going to be a tough one.
The Yellow Jackets were ready to play us and they gave us all we could handle. We bumbled and fumbled the ball, passed it directly into their hands and watched as they sailed down the court for fast break lay-ups. We were not mentally there. As we called timeouts and tried to get the players to reel their minds back to the game, I felt almost hopeless because their minds were not in the Civic Center. I do not know how we won that game. In reality we should not have won that game, yet we found a way. With Ali Tobias on the free throw line and Jihan and Katy singing to her, she sank her 1-in-1 to help us to a 53-52 victory.
On Friday, we faced the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. I was worried that we would not be able to regain our confidence after the WV State game. We were lost and worried. I've seen teams tank after a game like that. Yet, this team never dies. They just find a new way to recover. We spent some time with them revisiting why we were a good team. We did a little team bonding exercise where the players reminded each other of our strengths. I could feel the shift in energy after we had completed the exercise. It was just enough to change our focus and get us back on track.
We were able to outlast UPJ by a score of 73-56 in the final few minutes of the contest despite injuries to Jihan and Katy. They were so tough playing through injuries, never giving in to excuses. This is what being a Golden Eagle is all about--mental toughness!
In the championship game against West Liberty, it was gut check time. The players from West Liberty played with such heart and determination. They came out and nailed seven three pointers on us before we even had time to register them. We were down 11 points and things were not looking pretty, but we didn't give up. We just keep playing hard. I collected a technical foul for clapping my hands once. No, I didn't say anything--just clapped my hands. Yet, thank goodness for the technical foul. It pumped us up. It got us out of our slump and pushed us toward focusing our energies on playing smarter and harder.
We only had the lead two times in the game. Early in the game with the score 4-2 and then at the 7:22 mark when we went up by 1 point. Then we were not ahead again until there was only 32 seconds remaining. We nailed six free throws in a row and stopped them scoring to end the game. WOW! This was a testament to believing in a dream so much that circumstances and events did not deter the dream.
I am convinced this team has won 25 games from the center of their heart. They have won because they believed in dreams and wouldn't let those dreams die. I have been impressed with their desire and their heart.
TO THE GOLDEN EAGLES I SAY: IHHOAGE!
The conference tournament started on Monday with a game against Salem University who had not won a game all season. This was tough for the five players from Salem who had the character to make it through the season. Imagine showing up after being beaten up all year for the final game against the number one seed. For our part, we had to focus on being our best for the play-offs. While we didn't want to run up the score against Salem, neither did we want to become soft and forget who we were. Even though we didn't press one possession and played all 12 of our players in double-digit minutes, limiting our starters to an average of 16 minutes, we still beat them by a score of 127-25. While I understand the challenge the players for Salem had, we also had the challenge of playing hard and keeping the game in perspective. For our part, we never once laughed or displayed any type of jest at the Salem players.
On Wednesday, we were paired against our rival, WV State. I knew this was going to be a difficult task because we had defeated them on Saturday by a score of 87-54 where we made 14 of 21 three point attempts for a shocking 66.7% from the three point line. Getting our players to think that the WV State game was going to be a challenge was my biggest concern. It is difficult to get players to be prepared for an opponent after defeating them so easily, yet I knew from 20 years of coaching experience that this was going to be a tough one.
The Yellow Jackets were ready to play us and they gave us all we could handle. We bumbled and fumbled the ball, passed it directly into their hands and watched as they sailed down the court for fast break lay-ups. We were not mentally there. As we called timeouts and tried to get the players to reel their minds back to the game, I felt almost hopeless because their minds were not in the Civic Center. I do not know how we won that game. In reality we should not have won that game, yet we found a way. With Ali Tobias on the free throw line and Jihan and Katy singing to her, she sank her 1-in-1 to help us to a 53-52 victory.
On Friday, we faced the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. I was worried that we would not be able to regain our confidence after the WV State game. We were lost and worried. I've seen teams tank after a game like that. Yet, this team never dies. They just find a new way to recover. We spent some time with them revisiting why we were a good team. We did a little team bonding exercise where the players reminded each other of our strengths. I could feel the shift in energy after we had completed the exercise. It was just enough to change our focus and get us back on track.
We were able to outlast UPJ by a score of 73-56 in the final few minutes of the contest despite injuries to Jihan and Katy. They were so tough playing through injuries, never giving in to excuses. This is what being a Golden Eagle is all about--mental toughness!
In the championship game against West Liberty, it was gut check time. The players from West Liberty played with such heart and determination. They came out and nailed seven three pointers on us before we even had time to register them. We were down 11 points and things were not looking pretty, but we didn't give up. We just keep playing hard. I collected a technical foul for clapping my hands once. No, I didn't say anything--just clapped my hands. Yet, thank goodness for the technical foul. It pumped us up. It got us out of our slump and pushed us toward focusing our energies on playing smarter and harder.
We only had the lead two times in the game. Early in the game with the score 4-2 and then at the 7:22 mark when we went up by 1 point. Then we were not ahead again until there was only 32 seconds remaining. We nailed six free throws in a row and stopped them scoring to end the game. WOW! This was a testament to believing in a dream so much that circumstances and events did not deter the dream.
I am convinced this team has won 25 games from the center of their heart. They have won because they believed in dreams and wouldn't let those dreams die. I have been impressed with their desire and their heart.
TO THE GOLDEN EAGLES I SAY: IHHOAGE!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Dreaming on the Dream Board
During the summer months each player created a dream box where she was to place any articles, quotes, or pictures of her dreams for this season. It was a great way to keep our dreams close and to continually feel them throughout the summer. At the beginning of the year, we each shared something from our dream box with the team. Then the coaches just let the dream box idea slip. We didn't do anything with it until a week ago when Coach Fitzgerald decided that we needed a dream board in the locker room.
We decided that each player should bring something every day to tack to the dream board. In this way, we would be sharing our dreams with our teammates. It started with just a word or two, then quotes, then pictures, then a piece of the net we cut down three years ago when we won the East Regional Tournament. It began as something they had to do and grew into something they wanted to do.
The board has become a constant visual reminder of our dreams. It makes their dreams appear more real because there is substance to them. The more the dream is plastered on the board, the stronger the sense of the dream. It feels real. Every person who has ever felt her dream come true knows there was a moment when the dream no longer felt like a dream. It felt real even before it became real. This is how we won the conference title: believing in dreams.
The power of belief is so strong that it is the difference between those who succeed and those who fail. The dream board has kept us focused on what we want and placed our energy in the direction we want to go. It has created an energy of its own--an energy each player has taken to heart. Heart is the center of this team and dreams are the center of the heart.
I am thrilled with the accomplishments of this team and believe they still have dreams to fulfill. Until the season has been completed, the dream board will be alive.
We decided that each player should bring something every day to tack to the dream board. In this way, we would be sharing our dreams with our teammates. It started with just a word or two, then quotes, then pictures, then a piece of the net we cut down three years ago when we won the East Regional Tournament. It began as something they had to do and grew into something they wanted to do.
The board has become a constant visual reminder of our dreams. It makes their dreams appear more real because there is substance to them. The more the dream is plastered on the board, the stronger the sense of the dream. It feels real. Every person who has ever felt her dream come true knows there was a moment when the dream no longer felt like a dream. It felt real even before it became real. This is how we won the conference title: believing in dreams.
The power of belief is so strong that it is the difference between those who succeed and those who fail. The dream board has kept us focused on what we want and placed our energy in the direction we want to go. It has created an energy of its own--an energy each player has taken to heart. Heart is the center of this team and dreams are the center of the heart.
I am thrilled with the accomplishments of this team and believe they still have dreams to fulfill. Until the season has been completed, the dream board will be alive.
Monday, February 23, 2009
&%#$&*@()#&%^@&!!)(@#*$&!
The title of today's blog is the words I happened to say during and after the game on Thursday. I don't like to curse. I try not to practice cursing but dang-it, I hate losing. I am not a good loser which is one of the reasons I work so hard at winning. I once had a coaching friend of mine say that he thought losing got easier after so many years of coaching. I've not found that to be true. I love to win and love players who love to win.
This team loves to win and certainly competes hard. They did not try to lose on Thursday night. They gave everything they had that night. The problem was they didn't have much to give. Most of them were suffering from some form of the flu where coughing takes over the regular breathing mechanism and the result is the body replaces the exhalation of a breath with coughing fits.
I always tell the players that it doesn't matter if they are sick, tired, injured, angry, sad, or upset. When they get to practice or a game, they have to be there without any excuses. Of course, I understand there are days when the body refuses to give 100%. Yet, I am more concerned about how they are going to enter the battle. If they believe they should play through whatever ails them, they are more likely to do so.
I knew going into the game we were going to struggle because we had not had a successful practice all week. Monday, we didn't have enough healthy players to practice so we shot for 30 minutes. Tuesday, we attempted a practice but discovered that the players couldn't go hard. We ran a 32 second sprint and half of them spent the next two minutes coughing. This was not a good indicator of how we were going to run for the forty minutes which constitutes the length of a game.
I will give credit to Alderson-Broaddus for playing hard, executing their offense, and shooting the ball extremely well the second half. They did what they should have done--take advantage of our inability to play well. Despite having seven sick players out of our nine who play, I was still upset with them. Couldn't they find a way to dig deeper? Couldn't the two who were healthy carry us through the game?
I will admit to being a tad bit demanding. Maybe this was too big of a hurdle for them, but I won't give them that opening. If they search for excuses, they will always find them. I don't want them searching for excuses, I want them searching for answers no matter how difficult the obstacle seems. If they believe they should have overcome their illnesses to win, then the next time players are sick, they will step up and believe they should win anyway. It is always about mental toughness and believing in winning. Always.
This team loves to win and certainly competes hard. They did not try to lose on Thursday night. They gave everything they had that night. The problem was they didn't have much to give. Most of them were suffering from some form of the flu where coughing takes over the regular breathing mechanism and the result is the body replaces the exhalation of a breath with coughing fits.
I always tell the players that it doesn't matter if they are sick, tired, injured, angry, sad, or upset. When they get to practice or a game, they have to be there without any excuses. Of course, I understand there are days when the body refuses to give 100%. Yet, I am more concerned about how they are going to enter the battle. If they believe they should play through whatever ails them, they are more likely to do so.
I knew going into the game we were going to struggle because we had not had a successful practice all week. Monday, we didn't have enough healthy players to practice so we shot for 30 minutes. Tuesday, we attempted a practice but discovered that the players couldn't go hard. We ran a 32 second sprint and half of them spent the next two minutes coughing. This was not a good indicator of how we were going to run for the forty minutes which constitutes the length of a game.
I will give credit to Alderson-Broaddus for playing hard, executing their offense, and shooting the ball extremely well the second half. They did what they should have done--take advantage of our inability to play well. Despite having seven sick players out of our nine who play, I was still upset with them. Couldn't they find a way to dig deeper? Couldn't the two who were healthy carry us through the game?
I will admit to being a tad bit demanding. Maybe this was too big of a hurdle for them, but I won't give them that opening. If they search for excuses, they will always find them. I don't want them searching for excuses, I want them searching for answers no matter how difficult the obstacle seems. If they believe they should have overcome their illnesses to win, then the next time players are sick, they will step up and believe they should win anyway. It is always about mental toughness and believing in winning. Always.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Growing on Dreams
I have watched this team evolve from a team who could not defend an out of bounds play (Remember Concord scoring 10 points on the same play), who could not score on a 2-on-1 fast break play (ouch!), and who could not coordinate a team offense (the infamous one-pass-chunk-it offense) to a team who is third in the league in scoring offense (71.4 ppg), third in scoring defense (59 ppg) and first in FG% defense (.374).
Early in the season, I remember thinking that we were not very good. As I watched us fumble with our offense, consistently forget to rotate on helpside defense, and overall play with a lack of confidence, I didn't know how we were going to win a game.
Naturally, I didn't share these thoughts with the team. I told them that they were good, that they should be winning games, and that they had the talent to be the best. We talked about dreams and goals--about winning the conference and the conference tournament and getting back to the national tournament. We talked about these things as if they were true. Then we practiced on the court as if they were true.
Then little by little the team started to evolve. It was small things at first: scoring a fast break lay-up, getting a stop on defense, winning a close game, holding a great player below her scoring average. With each small victory, a larger victory came about--the inner confidence of believing we should win.
How could this team graduate from average to great in 3 1/2 months? How could players shed their lack of self confidence for a stronger belief system? How could a group of individuals come together so quickly in tight unity? How could they develop a sense for the game only experienced veterans have?
The secret is in the belief system. There is a quote which states, "Success breeds success." With each win, the players became more secure in their talents. They started thinking they were good. As their belief systems became stronger, their play on the court became better. They always had the ability to be good, but they needed to believe it.
Last week in our game on Thursday, I witnessed one of the best team efforts offensively and defensively I have ever seen a Golden Eagle team play. We scored 56 points on offense in a vast array of ways: in the paint, on fast break points, against the zone, with three point attempts, and on penetration. Then we shut down our opponent defensively allowing only 22 points on 30% shooting. On Saturday night, we had another incredible half of basketball, scoring 50 points while allowing only 14 points.
Is this the same team I witnessed in November? NO. It is not. It is an amazing team who can now touch their dreams, feel them on their fingertips, and taste the sweetness of victory on the tips of their tongues. This is a team who can dare to dream and dare to make those dreams come true.
Early in the season, I remember thinking that we were not very good. As I watched us fumble with our offense, consistently forget to rotate on helpside defense, and overall play with a lack of confidence, I didn't know how we were going to win a game.
Naturally, I didn't share these thoughts with the team. I told them that they were good, that they should be winning games, and that they had the talent to be the best. We talked about dreams and goals--about winning the conference and the conference tournament and getting back to the national tournament. We talked about these things as if they were true. Then we practiced on the court as if they were true.
Then little by little the team started to evolve. It was small things at first: scoring a fast break lay-up, getting a stop on defense, winning a close game, holding a great player below her scoring average. With each small victory, a larger victory came about--the inner confidence of believing we should win.
How could this team graduate from average to great in 3 1/2 months? How could players shed their lack of self confidence for a stronger belief system? How could a group of individuals come together so quickly in tight unity? How could they develop a sense for the game only experienced veterans have?
The secret is in the belief system. There is a quote which states, "Success breeds success." With each win, the players became more secure in their talents. They started thinking they were good. As their belief systems became stronger, their play on the court became better. They always had the ability to be good, but they needed to believe it.
Last week in our game on Thursday, I witnessed one of the best team efforts offensively and defensively I have ever seen a Golden Eagle team play. We scored 56 points on offense in a vast array of ways: in the paint, on fast break points, against the zone, with three point attempts, and on penetration. Then we shut down our opponent defensively allowing only 22 points on 30% shooting. On Saturday night, we had another incredible half of basketball, scoring 50 points while allowing only 14 points.
Is this the same team I witnessed in November? NO. It is not. It is an amazing team who can now touch their dreams, feel them on their fingertips, and taste the sweetness of victory on the tips of their tongues. This is a team who can dare to dream and dare to make those dreams come true.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Passion Is Stronger Than Fear
There are many coaching philosophies and many ways to win. There is the tough coach who demands, demands, demands, and uses punishment as a means to right the errors on the court. I had a former coach like this whose answer to every loss was to make us run suicides. When we lost, we knew the next practice was going to be horrible. We were going to run until we could barely stand up. The awful thing was that this approach worked because we hated running. The consequence of not winning was so devastating that we absolutely feared the next day. This fear drove us to win.
Of course, we all loved the winning. Winning was fun but the means to achieve winning was not. I hated the thought of going to practice--the thought of running until I felt my insides were going to all come up through my throat. I grieved all day, anxiety eating through my stomach, tasting the acid of that gut rot on my tongue as I envisioned my legs turning to rubber. There was no joy throughout the day until the running was done. Then there was that small moment of reprieve when I knew I didn't have to go through that again until the next day.
Since I didn't enjoy my experience, I am not the type of coach who uses punishment as a means to win. I don't want my players fearing practice, worrying all day about what I might do to them. I want them eager to arrive, to learn how to become better, to enjoy the experience even if sometimes the answer to a problem might be a tough practice. I remember as an athlete running and running and running all the while thinking that we would be better off working on the skills we needed to improve.
Am I soft? I don't think so. Should I at times be a little tougher? Probably. Should I at times be a little more understanding? Probably. I do know, though, the answer to my teams is not punishment but coming together to resolve problems or issues.
Two Saturdays ago after we lost to WVW, I wanted to work them hard--to push and push and push until they got everything right. It was what I wanted but not necessarily what they needed. They needed to recover from a loss, to work on the skills they needed to beat the opponent the next time, and to allow themselves a little time off from basketball.
In order to achieve these things, we spent a few minutes writing in our journals about why we lost. Then we went around the room asking each player why she thought we played poorly. After it was determined that it was a mental issue, a game preparation issue, I asked the players to complete a homework assignment on how to change their mentality the next time this occurred.
The next step was to work on the skills in practice which needed improvement. We changed our emphasis in practices and spent more time on those skills. When my assistant coaches brought to my attention that the players seemed tired and needed rest, I gave them Thursday off. No practice. No team meetings. Their instructions were to get away from basketball and enjoy the day.
Does this philosophy work for every coach? No. It works for us because we build the team around the positive and focus on creating our dreams from this belief system. Hopefully, the idea is that our players will love the game and use this passion to play. I believe passion is stronger than fear and I know without a doubt it is more fun.
Of course, we all loved the winning. Winning was fun but the means to achieve winning was not. I hated the thought of going to practice--the thought of running until I felt my insides were going to all come up through my throat. I grieved all day, anxiety eating through my stomach, tasting the acid of that gut rot on my tongue as I envisioned my legs turning to rubber. There was no joy throughout the day until the running was done. Then there was that small moment of reprieve when I knew I didn't have to go through that again until the next day.
Since I didn't enjoy my experience, I am not the type of coach who uses punishment as a means to win. I don't want my players fearing practice, worrying all day about what I might do to them. I want them eager to arrive, to learn how to become better, to enjoy the experience even if sometimes the answer to a problem might be a tough practice. I remember as an athlete running and running and running all the while thinking that we would be better off working on the skills we needed to improve.
Am I soft? I don't think so. Should I at times be a little tougher? Probably. Should I at times be a little more understanding? Probably. I do know, though, the answer to my teams is not punishment but coming together to resolve problems or issues.
Two Saturdays ago after we lost to WVW, I wanted to work them hard--to push and push and push until they got everything right. It was what I wanted but not necessarily what they needed. They needed to recover from a loss, to work on the skills they needed to beat the opponent the next time, and to allow themselves a little time off from basketball.
In order to achieve these things, we spent a few minutes writing in our journals about why we lost. Then we went around the room asking each player why she thought we played poorly. After it was determined that it was a mental issue, a game preparation issue, I asked the players to complete a homework assignment on how to change their mentality the next time this occurred.
The next step was to work on the skills in practice which needed improvement. We changed our emphasis in practices and spent more time on those skills. When my assistant coaches brought to my attention that the players seemed tired and needed rest, I gave them Thursday off. No practice. No team meetings. Their instructions were to get away from basketball and enjoy the day.
Does this philosophy work for every coach? No. It works for us because we build the team around the positive and focus on creating our dreams from this belief system. Hopefully, the idea is that our players will love the game and use this passion to play. I believe passion is stronger than fear and I know without a doubt it is more fun.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Playing Not To Lose
There is a difference in playing to win and playing not to lose. It sounds the same. On the peripheral, it might seem insignificant to those who don't understand the psychological differences. Playing to win means you are in the moment, secure in the belief of the outcome, heading toward the goal of having more points than the opponent at the end of the game. You are calm, searching for answers as the game progresses, believing in your abilities and those of your teammates. It feels comfortable and easy even if the lead is changing possession by possession.
Playing not to lose, on the other hand, is stressful, mind-taxing, and muscle-tensing. Playing not to lose means you are worried from the beginning about the outcome. Your focus is not on the moment; it is on the what-ifs of losing. When you are in this place of torment, you are not free to play as yourself because your belief system is in doubt. Your emotions are in the zone of fear and fear creates the physical symptoms of increased heart rate, muscle tension, rapid breathing, tunnel vision, and energy consumption.
When coaches say at the end of the game that their team choked, they are referring to this concept of playing not to lose. It is a real not imagined phenomena. It is the mind controlling the outcome of a contest before the contest even begins.
Not to take anything away from West Virginia Wesleyan, but we lost the game before we entered the court on Saturday. After gaining the number one slot in the conference and the number three slot in the region, our minds begin to worry and be consumed with the idea of not remaining in those positions. The mind is a tricky organ, and it is difficult to change the course of a mind once it begins its route on a thought. It is like hearing a song in the morning and then singing it all day long. It just gets in your mind and repeats and repeats and repeats.
Going toward a goal is different than going away from one. For example, if I wanted to travel to Cleveland, I would get on Interstate 77 and go north. It would take me approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes to arrive in Cleveland. It would be an easy drive. I knew where I wanted to go and how to get there. There were no questions about which route was going to get me to where I wanted to go.
Suppose my goal was to go away from Charleston. I had no real destination in mind other than going away from Charleston. I might end up in Cleveland but it could take me hours because I had no real destination in mind; therefore, I might take back roads, detours, or go to five different cities before arriving. I would be tired of driving, my neck muscles would be tense, my eyes would be fatigue, and I would be hungry.
There is a real difference in heading toward something rather than going away from it or trying to avoid it. How do we return to going toward a win rather than trying so hard not to lose? We become aware of what we are doing. We change our words we speak to ourselves. We learn the lesson that we have to think in terms of a positive goal. We believe we have done it before so we can do it again. We understand that we control our minds and our minds do not control us. And we try. We get back on the court and play like we are capable.
Playing not to lose, on the other hand, is stressful, mind-taxing, and muscle-tensing. Playing not to lose means you are worried from the beginning about the outcome. Your focus is not on the moment; it is on the what-ifs of losing. When you are in this place of torment, you are not free to play as yourself because your belief system is in doubt. Your emotions are in the zone of fear and fear creates the physical symptoms of increased heart rate, muscle tension, rapid breathing, tunnel vision, and energy consumption.
When coaches say at the end of the game that their team choked, they are referring to this concept of playing not to lose. It is a real not imagined phenomena. It is the mind controlling the outcome of a contest before the contest even begins.
Not to take anything away from West Virginia Wesleyan, but we lost the game before we entered the court on Saturday. After gaining the number one slot in the conference and the number three slot in the region, our minds begin to worry and be consumed with the idea of not remaining in those positions. The mind is a tricky organ, and it is difficult to change the course of a mind once it begins its route on a thought. It is like hearing a song in the morning and then singing it all day long. It just gets in your mind and repeats and repeats and repeats.
Going toward a goal is different than going away from one. For example, if I wanted to travel to Cleveland, I would get on Interstate 77 and go north. It would take me approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes to arrive in Cleveland. It would be an easy drive. I knew where I wanted to go and how to get there. There were no questions about which route was going to get me to where I wanted to go.
Suppose my goal was to go away from Charleston. I had no real destination in mind other than going away from Charleston. I might end up in Cleveland but it could take me hours because I had no real destination in mind; therefore, I might take back roads, detours, or go to five different cities before arriving. I would be tired of driving, my neck muscles would be tense, my eyes would be fatigue, and I would be hungry.
There is a real difference in heading toward something rather than going away from it or trying to avoid it. How do we return to going toward a win rather than trying so hard not to lose? We become aware of what we are doing. We change our words we speak to ourselves. We learn the lesson that we have to think in terms of a positive goal. We believe we have done it before so we can do it again. We understand that we control our minds and our minds do not control us. And we try. We get back on the court and play like we are capable.
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