All The Field's A Stage

  Randolph-Macon College Yearbook 1980 After the coin toss decides who gets the ball first, the captains jog back to the sideline and the real tension begins.  Coaches whisper final instructions or shout commands like "get on your game face!" The starting players take positions on the field and try not to piss their pants. Score keepers ready their pencils as all eyes go to the referee or umpire holding the ball, and finally there's a focus for all that nervous energy.  As the player who caught the opening kickoff or hit the baseball first, I learned early on that latching onto that ball as it passed from referee to kicker or from umpire to pitcher displaced all distractions. The ball flying end-over-end down the field or spiraling out of a pitcher's hand became the mantra for overcoming performance anxiety and beginning the game.  The only problem is that all players on both teams have that same focus.