Williebetmore said:
Ewa Laurence once told me a pot of coffee for practice. Yes, caffeine jitters can simulate a case of the nerves to a degree. This does somewhat work as you have to push through a tightness of sorts. Try it, it is a neat experience to try and perform under. But this doesn't remedy the mental aspects of the game.
The competitive arena is a social arena first and foremost. Everyone present and everyone they know are privy to the outcome of this match. The game you have spent countless hours honing can be viewed as better or worse than it really is. What we fear is the worst... a bad performance.
Everyone of us care greatly on how others view us. We care about our social standing and that in itself creates a nameless type of pressure. It doesn't in itself give you a negative vibe or anything; what it does give you the feeling of something else is there. What that something else turns out to be is an unresolved issue.
Our minds bring situations to our attention because the mind deems it important. We do this thousands of times during the day. As in...don't forget your keys or you will lock them in the car. Or I need to get that Valentine Card or I'm a dead man. It is an automatic response and we resolve these issues everyday. The more they mean to us the more weight they carry. It doesn't help that the more this thought lingers in the background of your mind the harder it is to become comfortable.
Think about it. When you play well in practice you are comfortable. So do not let the issue remain unresolved. Resolve it. Remember the situation, how you resolved it and the results from it.
When issues arise about playing position we must resolve them right? Your probably going to miss if you cannot entirely decide on a specific course of action right? Train the mind to recognize that your not comfortable. Find the reason. Then right or wrong find a solution to resolve it. If your issue still lingers around like flatulence your fix didn't work. Try plan "B" and so on.
This is a learned game. Both the physical and mental parts of the game. Yet we forget most of what we learn of the mental game. Why? The problem is that solving everyday mundane issues is not something we remember because the mind already has the correct answer automatically in place. The repetition of doing this thousands of times a day sort of camouflages those mental game issues in with the rest of those resolved issues. Thats why we cannot recall how we resolved mental game issues in the past.
Recognize the uncomfortable.
Resolve the issue.
Write it down the specifics.
Of course this doesn't quite answer the question what to do during practice.
It's not a silver bullet but it s better than a kick in the head.
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