Sometimes Winning Comes Down To The Wire!

Been pretty engaged with my daughter’s travel basketball team and have been learning a lot from watching the kids play one game after another.

It has been gratifying to see that a team that could hardly win a game when we started this season is now winning back to back. There have been moments of nerve-racking anxiety during these games especially when the scores are so close and there are only a couple minutes to either win or lose a game.

One such moment was in the game they played with a visiting team last Sunday. 1 minute to the end of the game they tied at 16 points. It was down to the remaining 54 seconds of play. There was tension in the air. Both coaches wanted to make the best use of the remaining time. These 54 seconds turned to almost 5 mins on the clock with multiple timeouts to re-strategize and make sure all the bases were covered. This was nerve-racking!

As the seconds ticked away the tension increased! Every play had to be meaningful. The pressure was on. It was tough to come this close and make a mistake. The girls, their coaches, parents everyone could feel every second of the last minute. Close to the 30th second to the end of the game, a foul was awarded to my daughter’s team for 2 shots at the basket. They missed one and got the other for 1 point to edge the other team 17-16 and win!

Sometimes winning comes down to the wire! When the deadline approaches, mistakes must be avoided at all cost. The way the game is played at the beginning cannot be the way it is played in the dying minutes – or seconds. 110% focus at the end is what may be the defining factor in winning.

How do you keep focus in those nerve-racking moments before the end of a major undertaking? Please share your thoughts in comments.