During Pressure Situations Your Habits Will Be Exposed

By Allistair McCaw

Allistair McCaw

During pressure situations your habits will be exposed. Skills learned in non-pressure situations will not necessarily transfer to pressure situations. One thing I’ve come to realize observing sports programs around the world is that a lot of athletes spend relatively little time performing under pressure in their practices. When the critical moment arrives therefore, they have had relatively little exposure to the pressures involved so perhaps it’s not so surprising that performance can vary. You don’t rise to your level when put under pressure, instead you sink to the habits you have developed during practice time. In other words, your habits are exposed when put under pressure situations. Developing these better habits take a proactive approach together with a purposeful and planned program. In short, skills learned in non-pressure situations will not necessarily transfer to pressure situations. And how many times have we seen a player during practice time or warm up before a match play at an amazing level, only to be a different person once the scoreboard lights up.