Ski Racing: Next Seasons Starts…NOW!
The race season is finally over. After a long and demanding winter, you’re probably tired of skiing (regardless of whether the season was a triumph or a disappointment). It’s time to hang up your skis, pack away your gear, kick back, relax, and forget about ski racing for a few months, right? WRONG!!! Being the […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Julia and Lindsey: Fire and Ice
Note: Apologies for not posting an article last week; busy with travel. Also, I will be posting two more articles before I take a break during the off-season. If you have questions, the next few weeks will be a good time to reach out to me (jim@drjimtaylor.com; 415-322-8425). I haven’t spoken to Julia Mancuso or […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Disappointment is Good
The 2010-11 race season is approaching its conclusion. The Nor-Ams, J2 Nationals, and JOs have ended and the World Cup has only a few remaining races left. Many racers are heading into the final stretch of races hoping to continue a successful season of strong results, improved points and rankings, and progress toward their ski-racing […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Pre-race Management
On race day, the time you spend before your race is the most crucial period of race preparation. All of the hours of training you spend in the gym and on the hill may go for naught if you do not use your pre-race time wisely. What you think, feel, and do before a race […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Fear of Success
A former University of Colorado teammate of mine who just happens to be married to an old Burke schoolmate of mine (ski racing is such a small world!) sent me a Facebook comment yesterday asking “Is there a phenomenon called fear of success or something like that?” Well, in fact, there is, and I have […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Slumpbusting
Performance slumps are one of the most common, yet mysterious, phenomena in ski racing. Typically viewed as unexplained drops in performances, slumps are a source of concern for racers, coaches, and parents. Despite its visible place in the collective psyche of the ski racing community, little is known about the causes of or cures for […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Getting Ready for the Big Race
The World Junior Championships have just concluded in Switzerland and the World Alpine Skiing Championships are underway in Germany. And then there’s you. You’ve worked hard all winter in pursuit of your goals and, hopefully, you’ve qualified for the races that you set as a goal in the fall: the States, Junior Olympics, Topolino, J2 […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Frustration: Aaarrgghh!
Frustration may be your most significant obstacle to achieving your goals. Every ski racer, from juniors to Olympians, has experienced the feeling of frustration when you’re not able to do something as you pursue your goals; you feel stuck, get uptight, lose focus, and get discouraged. The best way I can describe the feeling is: […]
Read MoreSki Racing: 5 Tips for Race-day Success
So what do you need to do to be totally prepared to ski your best on race day? If you ask the top-ten men and women on the World Cup, you will probably get 20 different answers. But, having asked this question of many world-class ski racers, I have found five themes that underlie their […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Demystifying Ski Racing Psychology
Whenever I talk to racers and coaches, I ask them what aspect of ski racing seems to have the greatest impact on how they perform. Almost unanimously they say the mental part. I then ask how much time they devote to their mental preparation and their answer is almost always little or no time. Despite […]
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