Deposits in the Bank

Gilly hits the nail on the head in his biography 'True Colours: My Life'

He explains beautifully how pushing yourself in training and in matches (in the run up to big tournaments like the world cup) is like making 'deposits in the bank'. He cites the example of how they chased down 315 (a huge score then!) He says that it is a classic deposit in the bank in preparing for a world cup because if they were to be in that position in the world cup they would not be lost. They would know what exactly to do because they would have been in that situation before.

Similiarly in Ultimate. As a team, practice starting a a game 0-4 down instead of 0-0. Only 100% throws. Come back from a 'bad start' until you are comfortable with it. Let it become muscle memory.

Do you know how your team will play on universe point? Is it the same as when they play when they are 7-1 up or when they are tied at 6-6?

Create game situations, mimic tournament games. Make deposits in the bank.

Motivation - Bangalore Tourney 2008

This is what I wrote. Wish I could have played that Bangalore tourney. I don't think that I will ever forgive myself for missing this one. I knew this was going take a long time to get out of my system the minute Manu called me from Bangalore. Manix drove it in saying I could have made the difference. What was happening around me wasnt helping either.

Team,
Winning is not everything. Its the only thing. There is no second place. NO consolation. Only losers whine about trying their best. About giving 100%. There are no numbers. No limits. No percentages. Do what it takes to win. Like in any team sport, a team is not just a sum of its parts but more. The effort has to come from within. The will to win. The quest for victory. The unquenchable burning desire to reach the disc. You will find that you can grind your man down by just wanting the disc more than him.

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character"

Losing

Losing in the final against LTF at home in 2008 has probably been the biggest motivator for me over the last year or so. When you lose a game of that magnitude, you never want to feel that way again, which pushes you to do everything within your power to ensure that. Since then there have been losses that made me feel that way to a lesser degree (think FlyBaba 2009). I think losing games is a part of the development process, but it's important to take something away from those games and use them as motivation.