Pressure — "something I put in my tires"
— Charles Barkely

Pressure is one of the hardest things an athlete has to deal with. Pressure to win, pressure to prove himself/herself to a coach or teammates and pressure to live up to your own expectations. When someone plays under pressure their muscle will tenses, heart-rate increases and they start to "over-think". These are generally NOT the best conditions to perform. So, how should we handle pressure? We feel it, so it's real and it's there. Before we look at handling it, let's look at what pressure really is....

Pressure is our way of "reminding" ourselves to focus on what we have to do at this moment, in the present, to create a positive step towards our next "moment". When you feel the pressure to win, you are really focusing on the future or end result rather than the present moment (task at hand). You will have to remind yourself (feel pressure) to play correctly in the moment. The truth is that you may need to win. However, in order to do that, you have to take care of your "present" task first. When you focus ahead, your present task suffers and you will have to remind yourself to focus. That is what pressure is.

Knowing this makes dealing with pressure clearer. Stop focusing on the end result or the performance. Focus on the moment. What can you do at this moment with complete confidence to positively affect the outcome? If you play hockey, it could be something as simple as skating fast and hard, or focusing on your position. Stop looking ahead. If you take care of your present "task" with complete certainty and the next task and so on and so on, the chances of winning increases.

If you ever played "Blackjack" you know you can only play one hand at time. If you play each hand the correct way, you odds of winning are better. Each part of your preparation and game is a "hand". Focus on each hand correctly and the chances of a positive outcome are increased. Remember, you can't control your future. (Winning is a "future'), you can only influence it. If you influence it with a positive, (focusing and doing things correctly on the moment), then the result will be positive...