Dr. Glen Albaugh: Why we love closers
26 Mar 2014
by Dr. Glen Albaugh
SHARE:
Heroes are the ones who win the day, and everybody loves a
hero. But there's a special breed of hero we admire the most: the
Closer.
Closers are the athletes who love the action when everything is
on the line - when winning and losing hang in the balance. They
are the guys (and gals) we trust to get the job done when it's
most challenging, because even if they don't win, the one thing
we can count on is that we know they will give it everything
they've got.
And even though we tend to think of closers as the best athletes,
that's not always the case. One thing I've learned after working
with athletes of all abilities for more than 25 years is that there's
a closer inside all of us. Every athlete I've ever known is capable
of being that special breed of hero: the closer. That's because
being a closer is more about mindset than it is about physical
gifts.
Let me explain why, and give you a few ideas how you can tap in
to the closer inside you the next time you face a clutch-situation.
Lee Jenkins wrote a fascinating piece on closers (Sports
Illustrated, July 25, 2012) and their mindset, and his interviews
with top athletes match my experience. The closers are athletes
who look forward to the chance to take the last shot, the last
putt, or the last pitch. It's not about the winning, they said. It's
about loving the moment. About being there. About embracing the
challenge. Fear of failure wasn't part of the equation. That
moment - the one we think of as crunch-time - was an
opportunity to play their games on the biggest stage, to enjoy
every single minute of the experience.
Sure, we all want to win, and it's great fun when we do. But it is
not at the heart of the closer's thinking. What's at their heart is
grabbing hold of that moment.
To examine Jenkins' closer principle further, and learn how it can
apply to your game, let's take an up-close look at the pressure-
cooker laboratory at the 2012 Ryder Cup matches.
Seizing the Moment - How To Become A Closer
The next time you play, there will come a moment when you've
got something on the line, like Ryder Cup players do. You'll feel the
pressure closing in. You'll feel the butterflies in your stomach and
your heart in your throat. Will you make the shot? Can you pull it
off?
The key lesson I'd like you to take away is that what you say to
yourself in that moment can make all the difference.
If you imagine failure, you'll make that pressure real, and you'll
have no chance.
Here's what I want you to do, instead:
Embrace the moment.
Yes, you're hands may sweat and you may feel butterflies doing a
triple-step. But recognize that in that moment, with all your
senses heightened, you are alive in a way you can be in no other
situation.
Seize that moment, and say to yourself:
"Wow! Here I am again right in the thick of things with a chance
to win the day. I'm not sure if I'll win or not, but this is why I'm
here. For this moment. For this chance. I love this feeling."
THAT is how you'll allow the closer within you to emerge.