FLIPPING THE SWITCH

In all the years I played sports, coaches always preached that you practice how you play and the other way around. The thinking is that preparation is critical to performance, and that high level of play cannot occur just because you want it to occur. It must be instilled with hours and hours of practice. Coaches in all sports believe that you cannot just "flip a switch" and do what needs to be done at high levels of competition.
Allen Iverson, a famous basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers was heavily criticized in the press for being late to practice, or for dogging it in practice. His famous line was, "It's only practice", and it used to make coaches cringe. Iverson was one of those rare players who were the exception to the rule of practice how you play. He could literally, "flip the switch" and play with reckless abandon for all four quarters. Nobody who ever watched him play could accuse him of taking any time off, or not putting out maximum effort all the time. He gave the fans every ounce of himself every game.
Now in Philadelphia, we have another example of a whole team that can "flip the switch".The 2010 Phillies baseball team is another exception to the rule. On July 21, the Phils were in second place, 7 games behind Atlanta with a record of 48-46. 60 days later, they clinch the National League East pennant, with a record of 94-63. That means that in the critical months of August and September, their record was 36-17, an incredible percentage of .679. They won more than 2 out of every 3 games that they played.
I believe that there are two reasons for this ability. One is the history of success of the team, having won their division for the fourth straight time, and going to the World Series each year for the past two years. They know what it takes to go the distance, and know when games and situations are important or less important. They relax in those situations and trust their ability to play. They can trust themselves, because they can rely on their history. The memories sustain them in times of crisis.
The second reason is that the Phillies have a manager, Charlie Manuel, who is one of the best at emotionally supporting his players. He focuses on playing for the love of the game, and gets the players to ride through the inevitable ups and downs of a baseball season without losing faith in themselves. He is their historian who reminds them of their success and gets them to trust themselves.
Those two factors, the history of success and an insightful manager, separate the 2010 Phillies from other teams. It enables them to "flip the switch". Just don't expect other athletes or teams to be able to do the same thing. Sports history says it doesn't work. There are exceptions to every rule, and the 2010 Phillies are one of those exceptions.