Q: Did you have the jitters before or during big matches when you were younger? I seem to get too tensed up near the end of a match, especially when it’s a match I really want to win. I know that once I win a big match or tournament, I will know how to win. But I’m having trouble getting to the top of that hill.

Rachel Gonzales, Austin, Texas

A: I have always gotten the jitters, before and during matches. I still do. I think feeling the nerves is a sign that a match means something to you. It shows great courage to move forward in the face of nerves, rather than the absence of them, which, to me, means that you don’t really care if you win or lose. It will get better. Every time you play you will get more and more accustomed to the nervousness. They will still be there, but you will know how to channel them better. You won’t stop feeling the nerves as long as you love the game, but you will get used to playing though it until your game starts showing up and you start winning. And winning is inevitable as long as you don’t quit. Anyone can quit. Champions play through it until they win.