Pac-Man Fever Inspired My Team to the League Championship
An unorthodox way to pump up, and loosen up your team
It was the semifinals of the Palmdale School District Middle School Volleyball Tournament.
We were the tourney favorite, having rolled to a 7–0 record throughout the regular season, but we weren’t exactly in cruise control in the opening round of the tournament, struggling to beat the lowest-seeded team (25–19, 25–22), a team that only won one game this season.
In the semifinals, we faced the fourth-seeded squad, which was one of only two teams to take us to three sets all season.
We squeaked by them 25–22, then the pesky Pumas flexed their muscles and roared by us 25–16.
I could see my players’ heads start to dip, doubt was setting in, and a look of fear in many of their eyes.
What was I going to say or do to loosen these guys up as our championship dreams started to slip away?
Simple.
Tell them a little tale about video games. Old-school video games. Not all this Fortnight or Grand Theft Auto crap.
“OK, when I was a kid we didn’t have all these elaborate games like Fortnight,” I started. “My favorite game was Pac-Man. So like Pac-Man let's gobble up and…
