So You Don't Want To Choke? Just Remember That It's Only A Game!

Jana Novotna at Wimbledon, Jean van de Velde the British Open, Greg Norman at the Masters, South Africa the 1999 (or 2003) World Cup.

- Adam Collins

They roll off the tongue: chokers, the lot of them. When the Melbourne Stars lost 7-19 to capitulate from the proverbial unlosable position in the Big Bash final, the tag was back. They took the gas, they lost the plot – they were chokers and that was that. No further interrogation or consideration.

Andrew McDonald, coach of the Melbourne Renegades, the victorious crosstown rivals, echoed as much in his own analysis of the remarkable turn of events. “Pressure,” he said when asked how it went down. “That’s the only explanation. Purely and simply, pressure does funny things to great players and we see it across all codes and that’s all that happened.”

It’s timely that choking and the broader question of performing under duress has also been addressed in a new book by a young coach on the England cricket scene, Rich Hudson, in his debut book Pressure Myths. Armed with his masters in psychology and the better part of a decade observing players from close quarters, his perspective is a most worthwhile addition.

Hudson’s persuasive thesis is that the fundamental issue for players is misunderstanding the thoughts that pervade their mainframe at specific times of trial. He writes of the “illusory causes” of pressure, built up above the shoulders that can deny a player the ability to do what they have thousands times before in autopilot. If a player can gain an understand the genesis of thoughts and why they happen, he believes, they are less likely to give into them and fold.