Our University club team, Torontula, had our first tournament of the season up in Ottawa this weekend for Canadian Easterns. Our team is the current Canadian University Champion and we're in a position we've never been before. We're not the underdog, and everyone is looking to beat us.
Fortunately, our team this year is, arguably, better than last year with many of our returning players improving their games over the club season, and a strong set of new faces to fill out the roster. Still, the psychology of being on top is completely different since there's some aura of pressure to win.
Pictured Above: Torontula this weekend (photo courtesy of Mark Kowgier).A few things I think that are key to keep for a team in this spot are put the pressure on to perform well as opposed to solely winning and keep the game and tournament fun.
The reality is it comes down to each individual and how they deal with being in different situations. Personally, once the game has started I don't look at who's the expected better team, I just go into the situation and try to focus as best I can. That's how I try to break the game down for the younger players.
A tournament is made up of seven or eight games. Each game is made up of a number of points. Each point can be broken into individual match ups. Each match up will include cuts, throws, catches, marks, and positioning. Deal with each of these small pieces and the bigger picture will come together.
PJ
2 comments:
Torontula lost some really good D handlers last year and are therefore way worse than last year
I think you mean "Torontula lost some really good D handlers FROM last year", to which I reply, so sad, my friend, so sad for ye shall not be drinking from the cup o' university championship glory this fall.
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