Becoming A Crunch Time Player
August 10, 2009 by Dave Hudgens
Filed under Mental Approach
What is a pressure situation? In baseball a pressure situation can be any possible turning point in a game, or perhaps any time a player feels an urgency or a necessity to perform in the “right now” as if the game was on the line. Pressure situations rarely announce themselves. Pressure situations can be the bottom of the 9th in the final game of the World Series, or a clutch at bat in the first inning of a Little League game.
Nobody wants to choke in a pressure situation, but the greatest athletes an the greatest competitors have all choked at some point in their lives and/or careers. When athletes choke, people say they have no guts, no courage, and they view the “chokers” as not mentally tough. But, atletes who choke deserve a pat on the back because of their GREAT DESIRE. Desire creates pressure. No desire = no pressure; it is that simple.
Choking-up is trying too hard; it has nothing to do with guts. Athletes who are said to be chokers compete as hard as they can… to the point of self-destruction; they go “over the edge” to the point of losing their emotional control and self-discipline. Great desire and competitiveness are attributes that every elite athlete must have, but strong emotions can easily take control, which is when choking occurs.
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