Loneliness is a crowded room: Match time; eddie cummings goes through our final pre match preparations as he is about to go on stage. In the end, in a crowded arena, coming from a crowded gym and a crowded corner of coaches and team mates – the athlete goes out alone. Learning to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your own mind in these crucial moments is a large factor in your success or failure. As a coach I must be sensitive to the individuality of the athlete in these moments – each one must find their own way of coping. What works for Eddie Cummings will not work for gary tonon or gordon ryan. Many a man has melted in these last moments and found their stage performance fell far below their gym performance – finding a routine to prevent this is one of the most deeply personal and difficult aspects of professional grappling and fighting.
