Most Front Range teams at Crossroads broke up on days one and two and were vying for a bid on day three. That's excellent! And only one team, Blue, won a bid to JOs. That's how difficult it is, and demonstrates how much better we need to be in two weeks. Pretty exciting to be so close! Pretty daunting challenge to break through!
In the matches I watched were our teams (and I noticed this in other teams, as well) two things to improve on stood out. First, staying in charge of our thinking; second, switching from feeling pressure to applying pressure at crucial moments in matches. Against the very best teams in the country, it's harder to do these two things, so we find ourselves sometimes letting the match control our thinking and letting the pressure we're feeling cause errors.
So...how do we take charge of our thinking and apply pressure against our opponents? What does it mean to apply pressure? It means getting the ball up so a teammate can better it even more, and we keep the rally going. It means passing in the box and running in system. It means serving tough and in. What other examples can you think of, maybe even personal examples you can remember from Crossroads?
How else can we apply pressure? By staying in charge of our thinking, our focus, our competitive determination - by staying mentally tough. Have you ever made an error, and then found yourself not ready for the next point? Ever made an error, and then repeated it, because you hadn't let it go? Ever made a great play and been so excited, you weren't prepared for the next point? There are so many ways we can become distracted from doing our jobs in the upcoming point!
The routines you've been taught and are practicing are meant to keep you focused on this ball, this next point. The routines stop you from dwelling on past points, and from projecting into the future. Your routine done correctly helps you take charge of your thinking which keeps you in charge of your feelings and your actions. It helps you to apply pressure against your opponent.
Pay attention in practices to how well you're able to apply pressure by staying in charge of your thinking (thinking only thoughts that help you do your job, and make plays that force your opponent to play at a high level) and then making plays that force opponent out of their comfort zone.
Work hard in practice to develop your mental toughness even more, and then apply a new level of pressure against your opponents in the upcoming qualifiers.
Tim Engels, M.A., sports psychology consultant to Front Range Volleyball Club, is a sports psychology consultant and counselor in Denver, CO. You can contact him at (303) 956-5691 or tengels@qwest.net.
