Last night, I played in the final match of a bowling tournament held among companies. It was an 8-week effort and our team was played well until the final match. We completed our group as the leader after lots of challenging matches.
Everything was normal before the match. I was feeling good and ready to be a golden medalist. All of our company’s directors, my team leader, lost of colleagues and my best friends came to support me and our team. However, the night turned into a nightmare for me.
I played terrible and we lost. What was the mistake I did?
- Lose my concentration: I was under heavy pressure and lost my concentration. The audience was waiting strikes from me and I was thinking about them not my game. It was the final. There was no return. I knew it, however I made panic. I could not control my excitement and could not play my real game.
- Cannot adapt myself: All my shots were going over the second arrow and they were missing the first pin all the time. I could not change my start position or the bowl’s hitting point to overcome this. I don’t know why.
- Trusting myself: I did not trust myself. I always started walking in hesitation. I did not think my steps, my direction or the hitting point. My spare performance was under %30. I could not see the line that takes bowl to the pin. Bowling is a mental game. It starts in your brain. Last night, I forgot about it.
- Lack of practicing: Practicing practicing practicing. It makes you comfortable. You can say: “I can do it. Because, I did it 1000 times before”.
So, to be a tournament player is not easy. Do not limit them for bowling or other sports. IMHO, they can be applicable to the whole life.
I need to think about them for the next time and of course I’ll keep on working in this period. For now, it is good to be a silver medalist. 
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Do not blame yourself for the panic. It may happen to anybody, it is not easy to handle a burning ball at finals:) It is normal, you can panic, you did it 1000 times before:)