Closing out the Game
How do you close out a match? How do you stay in control as a match is coming to an end? Getting to the end of a match is easy, but closing it out can be rather difficult. We see it all the time, a player will make it to the end of a match and end up choking. So the question becomes what causes players to choke at the end of a match and how do we prevent it?
So why do players have an issue closing out matches? What causes them to choke? Usually while a match is going on a player is capable of staying cool, calm and collected. They can stay focused on the match at hand and are able to play their game. As the match comes to a close players have a tendency to get nervous and stress. The more nervous a player becomes the more tense they become. The tenser they become the more prone they are to making a mistakes.
So why do players become tenser as the match comes to an end? The closer they get to the end of the match the more prone they will be to putting undue stress on themselves and losing focus. The stress can come from the player worrying about closing the match as soon as possible and preventing their opponent from having an opportunity to make a comeback. The more they focus on not making a mistake the more likely they will be to make a mistake. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The next issue is that the player will end up focusing on their next match rather than the match at hand. When this happens they are no longer focused on what they need to do. As such they will end up making unforced errors. The players must remain focused on the match at hand till the end.
Finally a player could end up choking due to their own stress. That stress might come from a player not wanting to make mistakes and or their will to not want to give their opponent an opportunity to make a comeback. The more they focus on not wanting something to happen the more likely they are to stress.
To avoid choking during a match one must do a couple things. Focus on the match at hand. No matter what is going on remain focused on the match you are playing. One must also control their own emotions and stay positive. Rather than focusing on not making mistakes or not giving your opponent an opportunity to make a comeback. Focus instead on the positive, focus on your game and finishing the match. Stay focused, stay positive, and finish the match.