PLAYING YOUR BEST AT CRUNCH TIME PART 5: WHEN IT'S "NOW OR NEVER"

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake spent the 2011 spring training working for a spot on the club’s 25-man roster. Things didn’t go entirely well … Leake had a 7.29 ERA in six spring training outings competing for the 5^th spot in the rotation. His chances weren’t looking so good – but then two other pitchers, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey, went out with injuries, making way for Leake – at least for the moment.

So when Leake took to the mound against the Astros on April 8, 2011, he had a lot on the line.  According to one report, manager Dusty Baker left Leake feeling that he had better prove himself if he didn’t want to be going back to the team’s AAA affiliate.

Leake got the team up to an early 5-0 lead, before an Astros single in the 5^th drove in two runs, but the Reds got the win 8-2.

As it turns out, Leake’s place on the roster wasn’t really in jeopardy after all; it just seems that the coaches felt he might do a better job if he believed he had something to prove.

Afterwards, Leake commented, “You always like pitching with a lead. Sometimes it makes you let down a little bit, but I made sure I wasn’t going to do that tonight.”

Feeling that there is NO CHOICE – that you HAVE to come through – can, in some cases, prove to spur an athlete on to success.  Some years ago as a college player at La Salle, San Antonio Spurs' Rasual Butler sank two free throws at the end of a game to secure the win.  Afterwards, I asked him what helped him hit both shots with all the pressure on.  “I HAD to make them both,” he told me. “Missing just wasn’t an option.”

A similar sentiment was expressed by Giants quarterback Eli Manning when he led his team to the championship in Super Bowl 42 in 2008, to beat the heavily favored New England Patriots, who came into the game with a perfect record that season.

With just 2:42 left in the game, the Patriots had the lead, 14-10, and the Giants had the ball on the Patriots 17 yard line. Manning’s gutsy play, including avoiding being sacked several times as he led the team down the field, and a crucial third-and-5 on the Giants 44-yard-line where Manning connected with David Tyree, who caught the ball of his helmet, kept the  Giants in the game.  Four plays later, with just 35 seconds remaining, Manning threw to Plaxico Burress for the win.

Afterwards, Manning commented that knowing he HAD to go for broke – that being down four meant that settling for a field goal was not an option – made it easier for him to do what had to be done.

                                                   
With that, Manning became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw two fourth quarter touchdowns to come from behind and secure the victory.

And more recently, the 2011 Masters offered a study in contrasts. With a 4-stroke lead going into the final day, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy looked to be the second youngest player to win the event (after Tiger Woods), but was unable to hold his nerves in check and had a disastrous final round. Aussie Adam Scott, 30, was in the lead, and fellow Aussie, Jason Day, 23, birdied on the 17th and 18th holes to finish up 12-under, when South African Charl Schwarzel, 24, stepped up to the 18th tee.

"With Jason and Adam making so many birdies, I knew I needed to do something,” Schwartzel noted afterwards. “I said to myself, ‘IT'S NOW OR NEVER!!’”

Schwarzel hit the ball down the middle of the fairway, hit his approach shot to within 15 feet of the hole, and then one-putted in for the win (four birdies on the four final holes).

To be sure, not everyone will respond similarly to this kind of pressure, but for some athletes, knowing that they HAVE to step up – and telling themselves that nothing else is acceptable – gets the job done.