Have you ever heard of the “Pea Patch”?? Me either!!! But apparently my Dad has been there and it is not a place people want to go. My mission was to take my opponents to the Pea Patch. They were going to fight and kick and not want to go but that didn’t matter, that was where they were going or I was not doing something right.

This was my Dad’s metaphor for not letting up on someone when you were winning. You close out the game or match and don’t let them back in, because if you let them back in, even for a second, they gain confidence and now you have a fight on your hands.

This is another area where mental toughness comes in. It takes more mental concentration to close out a match or game that you are winning easily than one where it is tight because you can get lazy, mentally and physically. I remember a horrible experience of being up 5-2 in both sets and losing the match 7-5, 7-5!! What a nightmare! How in the world did I lose that match and do the same thing in both sets?!

If you get in these situations remember to tell yourself to stay focused, keep your feet moving, never underestimate your opponent and never let up. Know they are fighting with everything they have not to go to the Pea Patch, or you may up in the dreaded Pea Patch!!