- Understanding what triggers it
- How long it takes for you to go from being normal into zone
- How to keep it going through the tournament
- How to get out of the zone and then re-peak (if you peak early..)
- All I can think of is disc. All week. day in-day out. Regardless of whether I am out with friends, reading a book or riding my bike.
- You struggle to get my attention. Everything around me is a blur.
- When I am not playing, I am talking /thinking about it, visualizing or strategizing. Yes. If you are trying to talk to me I pretend to listen just because it is polite.
- I always fall asleep visualizing - making all the plays - Keeping up with my man cut after cut. Putting pressure when on the mark. Getting huge layout blocks.
- I have nightmares 6 nights a week. Usually I dream of cutting endlessly and not getting the disc, of throwing it away , of dropping pancakes, of watching my team lose. I wake up in a cold sweat every single time.
- I struggle to control my adrenaline, especially the night before the tournament starts. No matter how many deep breaths I take, my thoughts keep going back to the game and I am breathless and pumped. Ready to go. Wait until morning, I keep telling myself.
- I have just played for 2 hours and I am ready for more. Hey! lets play a couple of more points I plead with my mates at practice.
- I look into each of my team mates eyes. I want to see the thirst. The overwhelming desire to win.
- I don't talk on the field - match day or practice. Its all in the actions. I don't talk to people about their mistakes. I glare.
- I want to hurt my man. I want to make him run till he pukes. I want him to remember the day he marked me.
- I am getting too defensive for my liking. I reel in my throws. I don't go boom boom. Fast breaks appear too risky.
- I don't think on the field. Days, months of practice kick in. My brain goes into cruise control. From then on my body has a mind of its own.
- I feel no pain. I have a high threshold for pain. I have played through an injury that would regularly been deemed as unplayable on. Come tournament time I embrace and wallow in the pain.
- Work goes into auto-pilot. I view it as a distraction.
Over tournaments I have learnt (mostly the hard way) that I cant fool my mind / body into going into the zone. All I get is the middle finger. The stuff that I use to trigger the start of the peak:
- I use a "switch" - A simple turn of the cap. Reverse in ON. Lets go mate! It's ON, I tell myself as I turn that cap around looking into my opponents eyes. I search for weakness. Fear.
- I slowly start playing more defensively. I dont poach as much. I play disciplined D. I deliberately slow the pace of the game down. I want to dictate.
- I start asking more from my body. I do cardio twice a day. My goal is to be so tired as to sleep within 5 minutes of hitting the sack.
- Slowly my mind and body obey. Revolting at first, but they dont have a choice.
I try and reach this state 2 weeks before a tournament. I week of hard practice and then there is nothing else to do other than some cardio and visualizing. Go read Zips Tips for more on this.
It used to take me a week but now it takes atleast two, depending on how fit I am.
How to keep it going through the tournament
I start playing lesser and lesser (Almost like I have limited hours in the zone and I am trying to use it judiciously.) until I start tapering the final week before a tournament- I dont touch the disc the last 3-4 days. During the tournament I try not to play irrelevant / friendly / hat games until the tournament is over. These are needless distractions. You dont / cant play as hard. You concentrate lesser. Easy way of picking up an injury. Even a niggle can be annoying if not distracting.
How to get out of the zone and then re-peak (if you peak early..)
If I find myself peaking early, I try and play lesser. I do more cardio. I try and help my team mates. I need to be drawn away from the game. I spend more time outside. The down takes about 4 days.
