The term we use on our team is 'reset': when you go through, whether it's a negative play or a negative drive, and you get your next opportunity - not focusing on the past, but going back into your attack mode.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I developed a mechanism so that whatever mistakes I made, I would bounce straight back. Whatever was happening off the pitch, I could put it to one side and maintain my form. Call it mental resilience or a strong mind, but that is what we mean when we talk about experience in a football team.
It's natural for players to be relaxed, so you have to be there to say, 'You have to do it again and again and again.'
When I play, I'm so in the moment that I can't really remember what happened afterwards. It's a rare experience for a thinking person like me.
Even when my opponent hits a very good shot, I don't just want to get it back. I want to get it back so they have difficulty. And then I can control the point.
We all get so caught up in the moment of what we're doing every day, it's hard to hit that reset button and get pulled away from all that and see life from a different perspective.
I think every time I go in a game, I have added something positive. I have gotten a rebound or made a defensive play. That is what I try to focus on.
What the other teams do is something that I can never control, so I just keep focussed on my direction.
My mind started wandering. I started playing carefully, instead of playing the way that had gotten me to that point. I had to force myself to keep driving the ball.
I learned something very important early on: You accept what happens and move on. In other words, if I hit a bad shot, I can't change it. There is only the next shot. That was a big lesson.
You rewind. You think of your preparation. You think of everything you did throughout the week, your life, the practices, the intensity. Everything flashes, and you come right back to that point. And it's like, game on.