To Protect or Attack?
By Dr. Tom Ferraro
“The ability to stay in attack mode is the most important skill an
athlete can develop.”
T
he simple question you see in this title is one every athlete
faces at some point during a match, and the answer to
this question, will usually determine who wins and who
loses. It makes no difference if you play soccer, lacrosse, golf,
tennis, or wrestling. You will invariably face this key question
at some point in every game. This choice usually emerges when
the player senses he or she is closing in on a win. When they
realize this they will often slow down and start to protect the
lead. This is called ‘praying it in,” but no matter how many
Hail Mary’s you recite when you start to protect the lead you
are going down a losing path.
Let’s cite a few examples of this problem. Lets say you
are playing golf and you are even after nine holes. You begin
to realize that you are about to qualify or win the match and
that is the fatal error. The reality is you still have nine holes
to play. You begin to play safe, swing softer, lag putts and do
your best to avoid bogeys. And this produces mistakes every
time. Or let’s take a soccer match. Your team is up 3-1 with 20
minutes to go. Your side begins to slow down play to kill time
and to protect the lead. Your coach may even tell you to do this.
Simultaneously, the other team has nothing to lose and starts
to play more aggressively. Many games are lost this way. The
story is the same in wrestling when the player has a lead with
two minutes remaining and he starts to hold on and not make
mistakes. He loses aggression and quickly loses the lead.
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“Starting to play with caution is a sign of protecting the
lead and will lead to poor shot making.”
W
HY DOES THIS HAPPEN? It is easy to see why
and how this occurs. When you start to protect
the lead you immediately lose aggression and
positive focus. In golf, good play comes from attacking pins.
In fencing, it is the same. Good play comes when you attack
the opponent. But when you are about to close out a match
while in the lead, players turn off the attack switch and turn
on the protect switch. When you try to protect your lead you
no longer focus on winning, but rather on not losing. This is
certain death. When you unconsciously try to avoid mistakes
you will start to make them more and mo