Okay so here’s the deal. Last week I woke up thinking, “Alright, WV States 2025. Gotta figure this out.” Felt kinda overwhelming at first, you know? Big tournament, lots of hype. But instead of just stressing, I grabbed my notebook. Real, actual paper. Old school, right?
First thing Monday morning, I busted out my laptop and found videos from last year’s WV tournament finals. Not just one, but all the finals matches I could dig up. Watched them while eating breakfast. Seriously, almost spilled coffee on my keyboard twice leaning in to see specific setups. Took notes like crazy – what worked, what flopped, which players looked stressed, which looked calm. Key takeaway? Teams playing safe early usually got wrecked by the teams going for risky plays fast.
The Practice Grind Was Real
Tuesday rolled around, time to actually get my hands dirty. Me and my regular sparring partners agreed: no more casual games. We set hard rules:
- Full match length practice only. No shortcuts.
- Simulate tournament pressure: One person calling plays like a real ref, strict timers. Even if someone had to pee, tough luck until the timer ran out!
- Focus on first 30 seconds. Seriously, based on those videos, so many points decided right there. We drilled opening moves until we could do them half-asleep.
By Thursday? My thumbs were kinda sore, honestly. But we noticed something huge – our defensive plays got WAY tighter under pressure. Started blocking stuff we used to just eat.
Tournament Day: Keep Cool, Focus Simple
Saturday. Game day. Big crowd, super noisy. Felt the nerves creeping in just walking in. Instead of panicking, I remembered my notebook. Pulled it out between matches and reread my own scribbles: “Breathe deep.” “Focus ONLY on next play.” “Trust your drills.” Simple stuff, but man, seeing my own handwriting calmed me down more than I expected.
First real match was rough. Opponent came out swinging hard, just like those early-aggressive teams I saw online. But here’s the thing: we stuck to the practiced defense. Didn’t try to match their crazy offense; just held. They burned energy fast. By the 2nd minute, they started slipping. We capitalized on one small mistake, scored, and then just controlled the pace. Won that one. Didn’t feel pretty, but felt SOLID.
The big lesson slapped me in the face: All that specific, boring prep? The timer drills? The opening move repeats? That’s what held up when the pressure hit. Didn’t magically win every point, but stayed calm, played our game, and made it way further than last year. Turns out, winning isn’t just about flashy moves – it’s about doing the basic stuff perfectly under fire.