Psyching Up

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

I love the feeling of adrenaline flowing through my body before a big game. As a softball player, I played in some very competitive leagues. Many times I was pumped up pretty high.

As I grew up, my preparation for a game became pretty routine. I would get to the park before everyone and just sit there staring at the field having a quiet time.

As people arrived, I would start stretching, followed by tossing the ball to a friend, gradually increasing the distance and warming up my arm.

The coach would hit balls to the outfielders and I would concentrate on chasing them down and returning crisp, accurate throws to the player beside him. I learned how to put a backspin on the ball so it would stay in the air longer and give a fat bounce that was easy to catch.

As the game got closer, I would focus on the task at hand and I could feel the adrenaline increasing.

Then, the team would get together in a circle, listen to the instructions and inspirational words by the coach, then let out some primal scream that was supposed to unite our energies and put fear into the opposition – except I didn’t do it.

I would hover outside the circle and listen to the instructions and pep-talk. Then I would walk away from everybody.

The first time this happened, the coach was a bit upset. Why wasn’t I being part of the team? Was I trying to hurt team spirit? Fortunately he bought my explanation.

It was neither of those. The truth was that before a game, I needed to calm down and focus on the task at hand. I did not need to get higher. That would have ruined my performance. Like the quote above, I walked to the beat of a different drummer.

The result was usually a performance where my body and mind were in tune, something that was better for everyone.