Mind Games

Regionals are several days away and while I've been getting excited for them, I have one element on my mind that worries me.

Big games pump me up. The stiffer the competition, the more excited I get and the better I play. The game against Mischief was no different. I was looking forward to playing them ever since we beat their incomplete squad at DUI.

I went into the game ready to dominate. I was sprinting down every pull, staying on my mark's ass every second. Then on the second point that I was in the thrower called a foul on me. I felt that I was stationary and contested the call. After a little bit more arguing the play continued and they scored.

While on the sideline the thrower came up to me and started asking me why I like to cheat. Confused I asked if he was referring to the foul call. I felt that my call was right, but he just kept on going saying that the call labeled me a cheater. Now, I consider myself a relatively spirited player, so that felt like a low blow. To make matters worse, one of his teammates joined in and just started ragging on me while on the sideline.

I do not play well when I'm upset. And these two were upsetting me. As the game progressed, I slowly started playing worse and worse. I ended up taking myself out of the game. When my captain called lines I preferred to let others play in my place.

This really bothered me. I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for this game, and after a couple points of their players ragging on me from the sideline, I had lost my focus.

Regionals is coming up and I am excited by the stiff competition and the desire to perform for my team. But I am not looking forward to playing Mischief. The last thing I need is to have all my energy and focus fade away because some dick on the sideline spends all his spare time breaking me down. If you want to challenge me, challenge me on the field, not on the sideline.

Communication: How important is it?

In a relationship, it is important to communicate one's thoughts and feelings to your significant other. The reason for this, is that your thoughts and feelings are not as clear to that person as they are to you. If you feel angry or sad, it may not be obvious to your significant other.

The same is true on the ultimate field. A player has to constantly make assumptions about his teammates and about his opponents. Is he going to huck it? Is he going to dump it? Or break the mark? Will my teammate see the switch, will she drop off her girl to get the poach d? Will she stay as a dump or will she clear up field? These questions could be constantly racing through each player's mind, but instead we usually assume what each person will do next. And then when we miscommunicate, then the tempers flare.

In order to stop these situations, it is important to communicate each others actions. We do this at practice by going over the flow of each offense. That way we can anticipate where each cutter will go next. We do this by pump faking to indicate we want an under cut, a break mark cut or a deep cut. And we do this by being constantly vocal on the field and on the sideline.

It takes a good amount of energy to be vocal while running hard. But with good communication comes less mental errors and less easy turnovers.

Good communication is the difference between a good team and a great team. A team that communicates on a high level, is one that reduces it's mistakes. We communicate with one another (both on and off the field) so that we can understand one another better. The better we understand each other, the better we can anticipate each others actions. Yet even the closest of lovers and the greatest of teammates will have times when they fail to anticipate the others action. That is why we must never stop being vocal. Never stop talking to your teammates. Not even if they offer you $100 to be quiet for the entire trip home.