Photo by restrungmag.com
If you watch any sport, you’ll see bad calls. Referees are human. Humans make mistakes. For the most part, you’ll notice the athletes let it go moving onto the next play rather than harping on the bad call. Take a tip from those pro racquetball athletes: do not let a bad call affect you adversely. If you keep thinking about it, you’ll lose more points because you couldn’t let it go…a BIG, BIG mistake. Fran Davis shares how to move on from bad calls.
Diana McNab, Para-Olympics Sports Psychologist, suggests to expect and mentally rehearse for five bad calls each game. You get a calming sense of being in control when you ccountdown. “Okay, that’s one, two out five, or whatever.” With all going to play, you can more easily move on to the next play.As I have witnessed many players “Letting Bad Calls Affect them Adversely”:
2014 UnitedHealthcare US OPEN Semifinal: Rocky Carson versus Alvaro Beltran:
Tied at one game each, Alvaro served at 8-10 in the 3rd game. After a long rally, the referee made a two-bounce call against Rocky, giving one point to Alvaro instead of a sideout to Rocky. Rocky argued the ruling, but the call was not overturned, as there are no appeals in the men’s pro game. Instead of letting it go or even taking a timeout to shrug it off, lost the next 2 points before he called a timeout at 10-10. I told him to let it go, but for some reason he couldn’t, eventually losing the match 10-12. I believe that was a pivotal point in the match after Rocky went down two games to one. Rocky tied the match at 2-2 by winning game four, but I think the bad call affected Rocky adversely and cost him the win and a spot in the finals.
Pete Pierce’s 2014 St. Louis Party with the Pros Quarterfinal: Rocky Carson versus Ben Croft
Ben was up against Rocky in the first 2 games of the match, taking a commanding lead. Rocky kept chipping away at the gap, little by little. Near the end of both games Ben thought some rulings were “bad calls.” He did exactly what Rocky did in his match with Alvaro at the 2014 US OPEN, letting calls adversely affect him eventually losing the first two games as a result. Ben did not let the calls go. Rocky saw daylight and won the match in four games.
NOT Letting a Bad Call(s) Adversely Affect You is yet another required skill on the road to championship racquetball. ALL of the players I coach, from the professionals led by Rocky and Paola to the amateurs, know just how important it is to “Let Go of a Bad Call.” It’s sometimes not easy, but a MUST. Their records speak for themselves…Rocky and Paola are BOTH 2 of the most decorated athletes in racquetball. Paola finished the 2013/2014 ranked #1 on the LPRT for the 3rd consecutive season WITHOUT dropping a match since May 2011 and was crowned the 2014 World Champion. Rocky finished the 2013/2014 ranked #2 on the IRT and was crowned the 2014 World Champion.
In the next issue, I will continue to build your Championship Racquetball Game one level at a time so you too can be ready to become the champion you always dreamed of becoming, whether on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) or your home club by giving you the tools to make it a reality. Rocky and all my athletes “Championship Racquetball Games” stem from their focus on ALL 3 sides of the triangle working together so they can develop into top competitors. Without a shadow of a doubt, they KNOW just how important it is to do the work. They are living proof it works and their titles substantiate it.
For details on more personalized instruction, a weekend camp, instructional DVD’s, our book, Championship Racquetball, and our APP (coming soon), ALL which covers all aspects of the Sports Racquetball Triangle and more, please visit www.FranDavisRacquetball.com. Fran Davis is a 2004 racquetball Hall of Fame inductee; Racquetball Woman of the Year 2009; Coach #2 IRT Pro Player / 1X US Open Champion / 4X and present World Champion, Rocky Carson; Coach #1 Women’s LPRT Pro Player / 5X and present US Open Champion & World Champion, Paola Longoria; Coach Jr. World & National Champion, Intercollegiate Champion, & IRT Pro Player, Taylor Knoth; Coach Intercollegiate Champion & LPRT Pro Player, Sharon Jackson; Master Professional Instructor/Coach USAR-IP.
