“Clutch” is very much an Americanism, not widely used outside US-centric sports. Part of that is to do with the term’s specific relationship with baseball, which, aside from a few hot spots like Japan and South Korea, doesn’t tend to get a huge amount of mainstream attention, certainly not in the Anglosphere. Nonetheless, the term really doesn’t have a compact definition or synonym that’s ubiquitous across sports. Yet, when explaining it, the concept is easily identifiable to all kinds of sports fans.
So, what exactly do we mean by clutch? In baseball, a clutch hitter is someone who seems to perform better under pressure, usually when there is something at stake. For example, players like David Ortiz and Micky Mantle were considered “clutch” because they were so adept at getting hits and home runs in the MLB postseason, something that happened when the game was on the line. The idea, as such, is that clutch athletes perform better when it matters. And, most certainly, that can be universally applied to all sports.
Clutch does not always mean best
The thing is, though, the clutch athlete isn’t always the best player. If you look at the NBA player props before a game, the player predicted to score over 30 points isn’t always the clutch member of the team, although sometimes they are. In England, there is a term for a (soccer) player who can excel against weaker opponents but fails to do so against stronger opponents or in high-pressure situations: a “flat-track bully.” In a sense, this is the opposite of being clutch.
There is overlap, of course, between great players and clutch players: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Tom Brady, and numerous all-time great athletes were considered clutch, delivering under high-pressure moments as well as generally excellent all-around play. But a handful of clutch athletes consistently deliver under pressure while not having truly great careers. We are talking about those with a knack for winning goals or late plays.
A sweet spot in the amount of pressure
The phenomenon has been studied for a very long time, with much credence given to the Yerkes Dodson Law from a 1908 study. In its essence, Yerkes-Doson states that certain athletes hit a sweet spot of pressure, which helps them raise their performance levels. If the pressure is not high enough, the athlete doesn’t naturally raise their levels. If it is too high, it could backfire.
When you think about it, it’s logical. Most of us have been in a situation where we feel too much pressure – we might start trembling, feel nauseous, etc. Onn the flip side, we can become careless or unfocused when we feel there is little pressure. But when there is a happy medium, we can become more focused and determined. That’s what happens to elite clutch athletes. They are able to, in a sense, regulate pressure so it hits the optimum level.
Of course, the above is a simplification. There are other methods that athletes will use, ranging from simple visualizations through meditation to more complex CBT exercises. We cannot dismiss innate talent. Whether we feel pressure or not, elite athletes possess physical skills (excellent hand-eye coordination, stamina, strength) that help them make plays and shots when it matters. But a select few are able to manipulate pressure in such a way that it actually makes them better at key points, making what most of us find difficult seem easy.
Ellen Diamond, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
