Dear reader, we all wanna win a bit. Maybe you haven't a single competitive bone in yer body, but there is at least a part of you - maybe a tendon of trying or something - that enjoys when you achieve sporting success.
But wanting to win also comes with the inevitable pressure of wanting to win. So we get stressed out about our performance, or we get frustrated at ourselves when we miss a clutch or a bull or what-ev-er.
But brother bear. But sister stork. There is another way.
THE 100% CLUTCH CALL LEAGUE
This league, for no particular reason other than a thought experiment, I decided to go the "100% clutch call" route. This means, simply, that I go up for clutch every opportunity I get.
If I really do some digging, I suspect I made this decision because my performance the past few leagues has been steady but dismal, and I figured "why not?"
This little experiment revealed to me a few things that I expected, and a few I didn't. I'd like to tell you about both.
WHAT I EXPECTED
Frankly, I expected to miss a lot of clutches. I'm not some savant when it comes to the clutch, and I've accepted that as a part of myself. Well, I guess I thought I did. So I grounded myself pretty early on (like, the 2nd game of the season) with the acceptance that I was going for clutch all the time, and I was gonna do it no matter where the points stood, and how confident I felt.
I also expected to lose a lot of games because of my hundo-P-C rule. And that wasn't necessarily anything new for me, so the thought of it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting.
WHAT HAPPENED INSTEAD
Well, I'm having one of the best leagues I've had in a long time. We've only just completed the 3rd week (something important to keep in mind), but so far I've only lost to Bob (who, lest we forget, is ranked 66th). I also have an average of 72.2 for the league (really good for me) and 2 fresh and new 81s (which is niiiice). I think this is due to a few unexpected things. Well, unexpected for me. Maybe you already knew this about the sport:
I don't care at all what the other thrower is doing - Because I know I'm going for clutch no matter what, I don't sweat the other thrower's score or decision making. While, conceptually, I knew you only throw against yourself, doing a 100%-clutch-call league really enforces it. And that put my brain in a new space, where I have zero percent jitters about throwing against anybody.
100% Clutch Calls means more clutches made - Ol' Gretzsky was on to something. Because I'm always going for clutch, I'm also always practicing clutch which, you know, makes be better at getting clutches. My percentage this season is wild (for me), and I currently have the highest number of achieved clutches in the league. Now, that probably won't hold up once Bob does his make up matches, but for right now, it's fun to see.
I feel zero pressure about anything at all - My mental state has changed dramatically around league nights. I'm not checking out who I'm throwing against anymore, I don't get frustrated with how I'm throwing. I'm enjoying the sport like I did for my first few leagues - where I was just happy to be throwing axes. It's really shifted how much energy I spend thinking about how to get better, and instead that energy is spent having fun. It's a very pleasant change.
MY SUGGESTION: JUST GO FOR A 100% CLUTCH SEASON, WHEREVER YOU ARE IN YOUR GROWTH
You only get better at something by diving in, I find, and in Meduseld league play, at least, there's a real environment of...let's call it controlled advancement. Newer throwers will not go for clutch, then they'll only do it when they know it really doesn't matter if they hit it or not. Then they'll start going up more often.
And I think that makes sense, to a point, but it doesn't really accelerate one's ability to rapidly grow in ability. If I could have convinced myself to do a 100% clutch league earlier in my axe throwing career, I absolutely would. It just makes the game feel different to me, in the best way.
That being said, this league is just reaching the halfway point, so this whole endeavor might blow up in my face - I'm very aware of that. But so far, it's led to more fun and better performance, and that's not for nothing.
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