6/9/2007 10:57:11 PM
Pre-Scrimmage

Different strokes for different folks. Just like anything else in life, when faced with a pressure filled situation people react and manage those situations in very different ways. I mean think about it, if you had one 2 hr controlled scrimmage in which to showcase your talents to the powers that be, in which if you happened to have a bad day your family would have to find a new plan to put food on the table…how would you prepare for that? How would you manage the pressure?
While in 7yrs of pro football and 4 yrs of U.S. college ball, I’ve seen pretty much all of the different ways that guys deal with these types of make or break situations. Everything from excessive vomiting, to extreme relaxation methods and all in between. It’s ultimately in our best interest as athletes to find a way to deal with this type of pressure ASAP if this is the line of work we choose to pursue. We’ve got our inter-squad scrimmage tomorrow afternoon and it will give me another opportunity to use the methods that I’ve cultivated over my own years of competition into another pressure filled situation, and find out if I can answer the call once again. The reality is though that for some people on this team, this will be their last chance to impress the higher ups and stake their claim as someone that the Eskimo organization needs to be successful this season. So what makes us able to deal with such pressure filled situations so well? What gives athletes the ability to rise to the occasion time and time again in sink or swim scenarios that others would find too much to bear?
If I had to guess, I’d have to say it goes back to the days of recess. If not recess then definitely the games played at young ages, in which the seeds of competition were sown. It’s at that time that athletes begin to develop that ultra-competitive instinct and drive that perhaps sets us apart from other forms of competition in everyday life. I’m only hypothesizing of course, but I know for me personally, tomorrow is just like recess to me. RECESS…very much like practice is, and just like the games will be, and exactly like the playoffs after that, the only difference being the size of the playground. That was where I realized that I was different in some way from my peers, and that’s where my desire to test my skill against the best from other playgrounds was forged, and that is where my mind will be tomorrow.
So if you see me smiling a great deal with a focused look in my eye, do not be alarmed…just having some fun before the bell rings. ©

KP8