When I was 14 I played a waterpolo tournament as the goalie. One of the highlights was scoring a goal against the eventual winners (which isn’t an easy feat for a goalie, it’s a 20m throw that has to get past the keeper), but there was one trick I used that stopped at least five goals in the tournament.

When a player has a break, and there’s a one on one with the goalie, instead of waiting for the player to approach, I would swim out to them and take the ball away. This worked at least once in the game because people don’t expect it, and they don’t generally keep an eye on the keeper, focusing on the ball in front of their eyes instead. However, my little truck never worked when I hesitated, even just the tiniest amount.

To pull this trick off, timing was extremely important, and any hesitation throws you off enough that the opposition can see it coming. It’s not enough to make a decision like this in the spur of the moment, you also have to convince yourself to go through with it, otherwise it’s not going to work. Which is to say, when you’ve decided to take an action, don’t back down. Take it head on. Hesitation only lowers your chances of success.