This was what I was gong to say. I’ve played as an amateur keeper for many years. The shots that you have a physical prayer of stopping, you can stop confidently 95% of the time. Those shots aimed outside of your reach or speed are simply impossible and the shooter deserves full credit for hitting the target.
The sweet impossible-to-block target exists on almost every shot attempt, it is the shooter who has all of the pressure to hit that goal. The keeper is just there to keep the probability window as small as possible.
World Cup Final center official. Two billion people watching your every call. Can’t imagine the balls it would take to call for a PK in a match like that.
Screw up and it could cost a COUNTRY a World Cup trophy.
Particularly at the level where the player needs a few good scores to gain (or retain) a tour card or something - that really can be a huge financial win or loss.
Similar to this, I’d say coaching at a small college. The school wants to win, but doesn’t necessarily have the resources or commitment to do so, but still evaluates the coach - who has a family to care for and who must beg 18 year olds to come play at the school, even without an athletic scholarship - on his won/lost record.
Another vote for boxer. It’s one thing to have to stay focused; it’s another to stay focused when you can’t uncross your eyes or when it sounds and feels like your head is full of bees.
Besides, I don’t think that any other type of athlete invests so much time training for a single event or has their career so dependent on the outcome.
Good point cornflakes - a single loss for a boxer can be devastating nowadays, particularly when they’re coming up. Young guy with world class potential fighting an older guy at say national / minor world belt level - win or lose can determine what level they’ll be fighting on for the rest of their career.
I think getting punched in the face is the opposite of a pressure situation. At that point your higher brain functions go quiet as your instinct and training take over. A pressure situation is more about being overwhelmed by the moment, similar to obsessing over something or a neurosis or what have you. The last thing you have when you’re being punched in the face is a neurosis.
If it’s true that getting pounched in the face is the opposite of a pressure situation, remember that after a few minutes you’ll take a little break: sit down for a bit of rest and relaxation while thinking about how you’ll soon be getting back to the serious business of being punched in the face, and then keep repeating that little back-and-forth exercise for maybe the better part of an hour.
Two sporting activities that genuinely surprised me by their athletic demands.
Boxing and Skiiing.
I mean, skiing can’t take too much out of you can it? just trundling down a mountain. Perhaps not, but trying to make a descent at decent speed is absolutely exhausting. The first time I tried to do it in any seriousness I could barely walk the next day.
And boxing? well that was worse. Just sparring for a few minutes should be fairly easy yes?..no, I couldn’t carry on for more than 5 minutes and couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder height the next day. Being hit isn’t a problem, feeling sick through fatigue certainly is.
Anyhow, that little excursion in boxing made me realise the amount of work that boxers put into conditioning themselves, over months, for a single fight. Whether that adds to the pressure or not I don’t know. Tough guys though.
I think a boxer would be more focused on dodging the hits, since yes he is concerned about getting it, but he still has his own job to do, namely to smash the other guys’s skull in.
You’re also trained to take hits if you simply must get hit.
You don’t get trained in all the other positions for letting a whole team/fanbase/country down.
