Ditch, an almost 20-year-old division 2 player, was finding himself losing matches not solely because the score said so, but because he departed the court too many times during the points. He might have physically been on the court for 2-3 hours, but mentally he showed up for less than an hour.

“I have three weeks off,” he moaned on the phone during the Christmas break.

“What are you doing today?”

“A doctor’s appointment and meeting some friends.”

“Wanna do your homework now for the tennis season?”

“I’m not playing this week.”

“Play off the court. Practice your focus; practice not being perfectly invested 100% of the time, but watch how you come back from being disengaged,” I suggested and asked, “What are you doing at the doctor?”

“Flu shot.”

“And friends?”

“Just a bunch of us getting together.”

“Easy. Take the flu shot with full engagement. Look at the needle.”

“I hate shots; I always look away.”

I heard my voice get louder, “Change your game plan.”

“I’ll watch the needle,” Ditch repeated, “and call you later.”

He wrote rather than spoke:

“I shook my arm, watched her prepare the needle with yellow fluid, watched it pierce my skin, watched the cylinder depress, and watched it being removed. My mind was surprisingly clear, and my arm was surprisingly relaxed. I thought beforehand that my arm would tense up, like it does in a match, and that it would hurt (as I usually expect a missed shot to feel). However, during the whole process, I had none of those thoughts. ‘In the zone’ came to mind.

And afterward, at the gathering of friends, I was engaged in the discussions among everybody.... but only for short periods of time. I was aware that every time (and frequently) I would ‘drift’ off into my own tangent fantasies about tennis or girls, or even a rare and random thought prompted by a line in the conversation. I do this on the court, but I usually focus on what I’m doing wrong rather than what I want next. But being aware of it helped my bounce back more quickly and I joined in... It didn't affect the amount of times I left (quite a large number), but it did affect the time it took to come back. Each return to the next part of the conversation took less time. Maybe it will take less time for me to get into the next point?”

And maybe Ditch’s workouts will be happening no matter where he is – on or off the court – at the doctor’s or on a date.

P.S.: Ditch got his name a few years ago from his first girlfriend. Though she didn’t stick around, (“For obvious reasons,” she said.) the name did.

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