I’m playing in my racquetball club’s annual singles championship this weekend, and the annual state tournament next weekend. I’ve been playing pretty well over the past few weeks, but my problem with tournaments has always been playing tight… not just choking on important points, but just being unable to relax and concentrate. So I’ve worked a little harder on having a routine to relax and focus my attention BETWEEN points and between games, and that’s been helping. I’m a long way from getting “in the zone” during actual rallies, however, so I don’t expect one of those “playing out of my mind” experiences.
I’ve also been trying to remember to sing a song in my head that helps me to relax, not take the whole thing too seriously… a trick I first read about in Tim Gallwey’s book Inner Skiing.
My choice: Zip-a-dee-do-dah (Song of the South). And when I miss an easy setup shot, I try to say to myself “Well, of course you missed the shot. You’re tense and you didn’t even watch the ball. Zip-a-dee-do-fucking-duh!” Which makes me laugh at myself, and then helps me relax and focus on the next point.