Lanny Bassham often says that the biggest mistake competitors make is to try too hard. What the hell does that mean? In his monthly newsletter, he talked about the golfer Rich Beem winning the 2002 PGA Championship. Beem had earned $800,000 winning the tournament before the Championship so he was just enjoying himself without putting pressure on himself to win. Consider also the football team at LaSalle High School of Concord, CA. Until Saturday, they had won 151 games in a row. When the coach was asked how they did it, he said, “by not thinking about winning.”

Just words on a page till you try it out so today I tried it out. I went through my usual mental program for each shot and I paid particular attention to thoughts like, “I’m down 5-6 and I have to win this game”, or, “I’m up 5-3, I should be able to win this set,” or, “my opponent is really happy because she’s ahead, I want to beat her even more now.” Instead, I just enjoyed hitting the ball well. Until the last game. I was down 5-6 and I was nervous and upset during that game. At the end of the game, which I lost, I was virtually in tears and I swung my racket at a wooden beam at the foot of the chainlink fence making a loud bang. How silly is that? Even John McEnroe doesn’t do that kind of thing any more.

What’s the solution? Damned if I know but I’ve probably been a bad loser most of my life so it might take me more than a few tries to get it right.

Practice and Competition Report: played two sets with M., 6-4, 5-7, did sprints, practiced my serve for two bags of practice balls – a total of four hours in the heat wave that is currently Los Angeles
Solutions Analysis: looking for solution to getting upset when I am behind or I am in danger of losing the match.
Success Analysis:
1. My timing on returns of serve is good, I am hitting the ball hard.
2. I played agressively throughout the match, I took a number of balls on the fly.