Hello ATA community,

Coach Newman asked me to share what it is like to be in a situation to clinch a match when you are the last match on. For starters, I would like to say that there is really no experience like it before college. It is a privilege as well as a responsibility to be in this situation. My sophomore year I was quite inexperienced as well as immature. I lost two matches that were the last match on so this is a lesson I learned the hard way. The feeling of disappointment is way worse than after any other match you have lost in your career. You have to watch the other team storm the court and wait to shake hands until they are done celebrating. You have also just lost the match for your team and it feels like it is all your fault that the team lost. You have just let down your teammates who are also your closest friends and have worked so hard alongside you day in and day out.

Luckily, this year has been a completely different story. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to redeem myself. I have clinched two matches being the last match on. These situations were even more difficult because they were against the two teams that I have choked against. This added a lot more stress in the moment because the teams were chanting “just like last year” when I had match points and lost. When people are screaming this at you in between every point it is impossible not to think about when you choked. I had to constantly push the replays of some atrocious mistakes out of my head.

The only way to thrive in the situation is to absolutely embrace the situation. You have the opportunity to be the hero and live the dream of clinching a massive match. In order to do this, you must embrace the moment and externalize rather than internalize. The great part about being on a team is you have 13 other guys you can share with in between every point to get in the right frame of mind. It is absolutely essential to celebrate every point you win by sharing with your teammates. Once you have the right energy and mindset it becomes purely about trusting yourself and your game style. You can’t evaluate yourself on whether you won or lost the last point, rather you have to focus on having a plan for how you want to play each point and be excited to execute that plan over and over again. When you do this, you usually end up on the winning side and that moment when you win is the greatest feeling you will ever experience. That moment when you clinch and watch your teammates run at you and dogpile you is unparalleled. I will remember those moments for the rest of my life.

I would say one of the most valuable skills I learned at ATA were the moments before practice when we would listen to Dr. Valverde tapes. I wish I had taken those moments a bit more seriously and hadn’t slept through them so frequently…. When I get super tight I mutter under my breath “total trust” and remember the funny way Dr. Valverde would say “trust.” Then I take a deep breathe and remind myself how I want to play the next point kind of like how you are supposed to imagine yourself playing points during an alpha…

Good luck to everyone in their next tournament and college careers!

-Grayson