Prepared to fail

Sorry for not posting in a while. This nasty 7 day head cold has got the best of me.

I want to address fear of failure.

Ever had an experience where you’ve trained for a particular “crisis” and you know what the “appropriate response” is?  

You’re not 100% confident using this “appropriate” tool, so you resort to the old familiar, “safe” way of handling things.

The “safe” way makes you feel comfortable & secure.  But , “safe” is not getting the successful results anymore.

As the “crisis” unfolds, you're coming in second. A last attempt at the “appropriate response” is made. Now it is just too late. The damage has already been done.

 Last week Nicolas my 10 year old, played a 2 hour "crisis" match.

Gabe his opponent had the same playing style as Nicolas. Ten to thirty moon ball rallies were the norm. Gabe won the first set 6-3 in this manner, it became clear that he was the better pusher.

 In the second set Nicolas out hit Gabe using consistency and angles to go up 5-0. Nicolas then gets less aggressive.  The whole match, he is unwilling to take  high moon balls out of the air, and finish the point at net, using his overhead & volleys.

We’ve gone over this particular “put away” script many times. Nicolas has used it successfully in other matches.

Gabe fights back to 5-5. Nicolas starts being more aggressive and after a few unlucky points, looses the game to go down 5-6. In the final game Nicolas is pounding the ball from the back, and Gabe is in the corner moon balling back. This unfolds point after point.  Nicolas makes attempts to be more aggressive but is unwilling to exercise his “put away” game and eventually looses 5-7.

In tennis and life the right decision will, take you out of your comfort zone. Fear of failure, prevents us from making that decision, even though we know in our head it is the right one. At least from a strategic point, there will be no regrets for the looser.