Staying Composed in a Game
Dear Ultimate Frisbee Players!
Today I am going to talk about a integral problem some players would often face in a game of ultimate frisbee - maintaining composure. This is a key issue that players might face during their ultimate career. I had this problem before and made really bad decisions during some scrimmages, costing the game at times. It was until then when a seasoned player shared some of his advice and it worked for me! I would credit this to this player subtlely..
Facing Pressure in the Ultimate game
During drills, you would be able to execute the drills perfectly and comfortably. However, when it comes to the actual scrimmage itself, you might feel something similar to this: Everyone is shouting for your name for the disc, the sidelines are calling you to do something to move the disc and your marker is calling the stall count. Everything seems to be closing on to you and the pressure is intense.
Your brain is accelerating into a fight or flight situation. This might turn out into two conclusions. One is you make a good throw and the game continues. The other conclusion could be what some of you might be facing - you make a bad decision and the disc goes awry, literally giving the disc to your opponent as they pick it up for their turn on the field. You feel chastised by everyone around you. The endless cycle continues and this might affect your confidence should you face such situation again and impede your progress as a ultimate player!
Hence, in order to break this endless cycle, here are some advice to break out from it!
1) Always know that you have an Alternative
When under pressure, we often feel that there is no way out for us, which may result in rash decisions. One way to break out of this is to know that there is always an alternative ready for you, be it a swing or a dump. The drills you practised day in and out are for this moment!
Knowing that would help alleviate the fear that you might have in these situations and allow you to make better decision. Something that worked for me is to take a deep breath before each point start to steady myself for the battle of wits and stamina!
Credits: Eric Lim S C
2) Work on Releasing the Disc Quickly
A quick release helps you get out of trouble faster and it might prevent such situations from arising as the flow is maintained as the disc would be moved quickly among your team. Here are a video that might help you in getting the quick release.
3) Have Faith in your team mates!
Do not look your team mates as someone who is there just to fill the number, but someone who understands you and willing to help you out of any trouble you might face along the way. This might ease some of the pressure that you might face as you know that what they are doing is not to rush you, but to show you throwing opportunities that you can throw to.
Credits: Seattle Rainmakers
4) Practise... Practise.. Practise!
One has to be comfortable with their throws to be at ease even during an intense game. That can be only achieved if you train and practise on a regular basis, or else you might "lose the touch". Try to throw at least once or twice a week!!
5) Do not let your mind get the better of you!
Often during those situations, your mind gets the better of your body, who has memorised the perfect execution of the throws. In order to prevent that, think of the brain and body as two separate entities. First off, let the brain know not to be judge any situations and to have full trust in the body to execute what has been done over and over again during your trainings. It takes some time and pracrise to do so, but it should help you through!
Hope that this advice would be able to help you get out of those sticky situations! It has helped me a lot and you should know about it too! Till then!
