Relax, Breathe, Watch the Ball - The Sweet Spot

            “One thing all the pros do,” Coach Knowland said in a hushed tone, as if about to unlock the secret of the universe. “The one thing they all do is they all watch the ball.”  And my first thought was the Meatloaf song, “I would do anything for love but I won’t do that.”  Watch the ball?  “There has to be a better key to improving my game than that,” I thought. 

            Coach Knowland is a Yoda-y kind of guy, not in looks, but in his delivery style.  He rarely says much of anything.  When he does say something it’s usually to the effect of relax, breathe, watch the ball.  And the people he coaches have gorgeous, flowing, powerful games.  They are like rocket antelopes or cheetahs breathing in and out with their minimal moves and easy, focused faces. 

            Grrrrr.  My friend Talia has been working with Coach Knowland.  She’s moved up the board from me and I’m happy for her but a touch sad for me because I’m still in the very strong chipmunk kind of player category, or maybe Golden Retriever.  I get the ball.  I get it consistently and I get it medium-well.  But I get tired.  I waste energy.  I chat and joke around.  I don’t rock anyone like a hurricane. 

            That’s how Talia used to be.  But now I see her and she is magnificent.  There’s been a shift.  She is relaxed and ready.  She is playing in the sweet spot the vast majority of the time.  She’s worked for it.  She’s been playing four times a week, maybe more, for a while now, and I’m doing maybe once a week.  So there’s that.   

            I’ve been working my off-court life every day.  Relaxing, breathing, paying attention, mothering, wife-ing, daughter-ing, writing, coaching, being.  I’m living in the sweet spot a lot of the time, in real life.  I am magnificent too!