| |
BGonline.org Forums
What it will take to beat McIlroy on Sunday
Posted By: Henrik Bukkjaer In Response To: What it will take to beat McIlroy on Sunday (Bob Koca)
Date: Sunday, 19 June 2011, at 8:14 p.m.
Bob, I'm not sure if you mean in golf or sports in general?
But I think there are more than one answer:
1) In those situations most players fail to perform their best. The players who are able to perform their best, might not be playing that much better than their usual game - they just stand out compared to the opposition.
2) A player cannot perform constantly on a certain level, there will be some variance. Some people (most?) tend to "crack" under pressure, they start to think about a lot of things not directly related to the task at hand but consequences, expectations, etc. Other people might not be able to perform their best, unless there's something "on the line". They get bored or start thinking about other things, if they are not pushed or have something to gain. It's like the backgammon players that always "take" when the stakes are not high enough (or non-existing). So these variations in performance may come for different reasons and at different times, resulting in some players seemingly being "clutch players" and other the opposite.
3) It varies of course from sport to sport. When you are put in the "clutch situation" you'll develop higher levels of adrenaline and cortisone, that will help you perform better. In some sports that's a direct improvement, in other sports it can be the opposite, and in most sports it can help you if you are able to control it (and most often, that's equal to have tried it before). Take golf. You'll actually hit the ball further when you are in this physical condition, Your swing can change pace, you muscle it some more. But you also have a better "focus". It can be good if you know this and if you have tried it before. Or it can have a bad effect. Yet again in other sports (especially team sports), you might be the go-to guy in this situation. You might be the one who get all the shots in the last few minutes, so you actually have more opportunities to perform than during "normal play". You also get more support from your team. I would guess, that if you were playing for the Chicago Bulls back in the days with MJ you wouldn't get the chance to take many shots/drives in the last 2 minutes of a close game! But you'd have to do your best to setup the play for him that had been rehearsed over and over again under the supervision of Phil Jackson.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.