"It's like an out-of-body experience, like you're watching yourself. You almost feel like you don't even see the defense. Every move you make, you feel like.. gee that guy is slow. You're going by people. You don't even hear the regular noise you hear. It's muffled. You go to practice the next day and you say, 'Why can't I do that every night?' Guys have wanted to bottle that feeling."
- Joe Dumars
No one has been able to define what it means, but everyone knows it exists. It's when everything - the physical, the mental, and the emotional - all come together. Everything seems to click.
Athletes refer to the state of being in the zone when everything comes together, when one does great things, and when mind and body are able to stretch to the limit to accomplish greatness. This state involves total immersion and focus, such that distractions and noise are absent.
Often, at times of peak performance, athletes find themselves "in the zone." For basketball players the basket seems bigger and wider. They can't miss. For baseball players, they report being able to see the baseball bigger, more clearly and in great detail. Football players describe a feeling of being invincible with the ability to run all day through their opponents without being touched. In the zone, your confidence is high, worry is non-existent and you cannot fail.
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