Saturday, August 30, 2003
i really need some peace and quiet right now...
dear ssc...
there's so much on my mind, so much i want to say but i'm not sure how to say it... so i'm putting it in a sort of point form n hope it's in the right order :p
- winning should not be our main focus. in every game, there will always be a winner and a loser. there are no 'draws' in life. ultimately, what matters most is that we have done our best. even if we play our best and we lose, we know that we have done our best and that's what makes us triumphant. playing your best and winning is like an added bonus, the trophy is like your prize for playing your best.
- perhaps some ppl are motivated to play their best because they want to win. this is good because it may help us realise untapped potential. obviously, we've trained so hard, done so much because we want to win. but if during the actual game, all we focus upon is winning, then we just cripple ourselves. we tell ourself "i want to win, i want to win", so much so that we lose all that we've trained so hard for. it's like a mental tunnel of our own making and all we can see is the prize at the end of the tunnel. but that's bad. it's narrowing our vision down so much that all we want to do is score. we'll make mistakes, seemingly forgetting all of our training, the process and the basics, so as to achieve that end goal of winning. we get anxious, becoming easily frustrated when we make a mistakes, which would lead to even more mistakes! it's a viscious cycle...
- so winning is the prize, the reward for all those months of training and all you've given up for it. but winning in itself is not the most important thing. even if you win but all the labour you've invested in it does not show, then what's the point? the elation comes giving your all, doing your best, displaying all that you've worked so hard for... then even if you lose, you know you've done your best! it's an achievement, a memory of the triumph that comes from reaching your peak. say the three-on-three for example. winning wasn't our objective, what we wanted to do is just whack! show them what we're capable of man!! and we scored and cheered! we lost but wth, we played dem well!! and that's the way it should be... we want to go out there, play to the best of our ability and SPIRIT!
- however, in team sports, playing your own best is not so much the matter. what does matter is playing your best as a TEAM! there is no 'i' in team. so what if we're playing our best? if our 'best' does nothing to facilitate (or in fact, hinders) how the team plays together, then it is quite useless... when i mean 'our best', it really is 'our best' as a team!!! maybe i may be playing really lousily on that day, so what we must do is work together, communicate with one another, support each other as a team. physically during gameplay as well as morally in encouraging one another. so your own personal best is not what's important here, but how the team as a whole does its best together :p
- so relaxation is very important. maybe 20-30 mins before the game, the whole team comes together, close your eyes and relax. tense each muscle one by one, then let go slowly, breathing with deep and even breaths. in order to remember our process, as well as to be able to work well with our team-mates, we have to be relaxed. that way, our minds will be clear and our bodies ready, n we will be open mentally, ready to pass to our team members, our vision, wide on the courts...
- moreover, we must be able to psych ourselves up when we need to. psyching yourselves up is not about getting all excited and losing the 'centre' that you've found for yourself in relaxation, but making ourselves mentally sharp and physically alert, swift to react during the game in addition to being clear, open and ready.
- another important thing is the 'togetherness' of the team. in order to be able to play well as a team, we need to know each other off the courts as well. how well the team bonds together in friendship makes the difference in how well the team bonds together during gameplay. only with the ties of friendship do you gain that trust, that ability to communicate with your team-mates. say you have the ball n another of your team calls for it. without hesitation, you pass the ball because you trust in the ability of that player. when a team is bonded, they would almost seem pyschic, knowing instinctively when to go for the ball, when to let go n trust another member to get it, who to pass to and what to do, be it chase or retreat...
i feel that we can do it. we can but for the lack of innate trust and bonding between ourselves as well as divergence between our own personal goals and perhaps the misplacing (i can't quite think of a better word) of what that goal should be.
our team spirit leaves somewhat to be desired as well... we cheer and all, but we're not really raring to go or anything like that :P i feel we're not really giving our all nor doing our best. when we're tired, we force ourselves to continue because we think it's our 'duty' n because we want to play. but that would not help the team as a whole. why not sub with another member who is fresh n rest? u can always sub back in again once you feel revitalised :)
go ssc... let's do our best and give us something to remember this competition by... tmr's our last day together playing c'polo for now. let's make waves~!! =)
love,
cheryl.
8:06 PM
Sunday, August 24, 2003
feeling kinda helpless right now... read a few ppl's blogs n i don't know what to do :(
damn am i confused!! sighs... bleah.
hope kh comes this weekend... euphoria should last me about a week. yyyaaaahhh...
10:51 PM