b"From the Back OF THE BOXBy John SamsillYou can contact me directly at johnsamsillteamroping@gmail.com if you have any questionsor would like to schedule a clinic or a lesson.I f you are a sports fanIf you watch kids playing around on a roping dummycommon is that we need to rope four steers in a row. then chances are youyou see situational roping at its best. Before theyThen we need to be a little faster on one of those have heard of situationalrope the roping dummy they will announce that theysteers, it may be the short round steer, the second, or defense or offense. Theyhave to be four flat to win the roping or that theythird. It also works the other way in that sometimes even have situational playsare at the NFR and have to be seven flat to win thewe only have to catch our short round steer.We designed depending onworld. They come up with these scenarios becausecome up with the scenarios on the fly. The scenario whether they have a lead or are ahead in a game.they have heard them announced at a roping ordoesnt matter as much as just putting pressure on Team roping is no different. As a matter of fact, inheard the announcer on TV explain what the teamyourself to be able to perform in a certain way either team roping, your situation changes almost everyneeds to do to win the championship. These areby just simply being able to catch at will or by being steer so you may have a different game plan for eachreal-life situations and they are already practicing forcomfortable trying to be a little faster on a given run. steer. This is situational team roping.them, physically and mentally. As adults, we need to continue this practice. The more we can put ourselvesBeing able to adjust your roping is important to In the not-so-distant past just about the only teamsinto these situations, whether real or imagined, thewinning but being able to read a roping and know you saw rope in situational roping would be thebetter we will become at them. If you have neverwhen and what the situations are is just as, if not open or the number fifteen teams. That is no longerbeen the high team before but you have imaginedmore, important than being able to perform in the case. With the increased competition and peopleyourself in this situation and that you handled it wellthose situations. We have all experienced or at least who were higher number ropers moving down towith a great outcome then the first time it happens inwitnessed a team who tried to be too fast too early in the lower numbers because of age or injuries, thereal life you will have some experience to draw from,the roping and missed. Then it turned out that just roping IQs in all the ropings have increased. So to beeven if it's just from your imagination.catching would have been enough. They misread the competitive now you not only have to rope well butsituation and it cost them. Of course, sometimes we you also need to rope smart. When I practice with a partner, I come up with allthink we just need to catch them all and the roping different types of scenarios to put us into. The mostends up being faster than we thought it was going to be. Knowing what to execute is just as important as being able to execute. What would you do if you are heading and you and your partner are a little behind the pack after your first two? Then heading into the third round you decide to pick up the pace and all of a sudden you draw a runner and you get out late. Do you stick with the original plan or adapt on the fly? Do you take that lower percentage throw and take a chance, kind of an all-or-nothing proposition? There probably wouldn't be a right or wrong answer. My thought would be that we werent going to be able to make up any time on this runner. So go get him down, give ourselves a chance to make the short round, and then see if we draw a good one there to try and make up that time. The only time this changes for me is if I were in the short round and I knew that unless I took the lower percentage throw we weren't going to win anything anyway. If I could still place then I would run him down and take my chances on placing. These decisions are made in an instant but it takes time to learn which decision is best for you. By going over these different scenarios and knowing your exact situation ahead of time you can have confidence you are making the correct decisions and not be second-guessing yourself in that split-second window of opportunity. Remember, that even if you do make the wrong decision and it turns out that it costs you, as long as you are thinking and trying to put yourself in the best situation to win, you'll have more opportunities. It's a process that you can learn from.Until next time, Ill see you at the back of the box. 12 December 2021"