Ski Racing: Motivation to Succeed
Motivation is the foundation of all of your efforts to achieve your ski-racing goals. Without your desire and determination to become a better ski racer, everything else you do won’t matter. It’s simple. To become the best ski racer you can be, you must be motivated to do what it takes to maximize your ability. […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Fear of Total Failure
In my very first Kids & Culture Alert! e-newsletter published in April of 2005, I discussed the sad epidemic of fear of failure that I found to be rampant in America at that time. Well, over five years later, fear of failure is still the most pervasive and debilitating issue among young athletes and other […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Prime Profiling: Physical Testing for the Mind
The first step toward achieving your ski racing goals involves gaining a better understanding of yourself as an ski racer. Becoming the best ski racer you can is complicated; there’s conditioning, technique, tactics, equipment, and more. And you probably have a busy life filled with ski racing, school, work, family, social life, and other activities. […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Strive for Excellence, Not Perfection
Perfectionism is one of the most destructive diseases among American children today. Perfectionism is a double-edged sword. One edge of the sword drives young racers to be perfect. These children push themselves to win races, qualify for the next level of competition, and set extremely high goals for themselves. The other edge of the sword […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Prime Ski Racing Attitude
In a recent post, I introduced you to Prime Ski Racing which I defined as “skiing at a consistently high level under the most challenging conditions.” Before you can begin developing the essential mental skills that help you experience Prime Ski Racing, you need to establish the right attitude toward your ski-racing participation. This attitude […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Parent and Child Responsibilities in Ski Racing
For your children to have a great ski racing experience which, for me, means having fun, developing essential life skills, and achieving their goals, both you and your children must understand and fulfill your respective responsibilities and those responsibilities alone. Taylor’s Law of Family Responsibilities states that if family members fulfill their own responsibilities and […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Prime Ski Racing is the Goal
When you ski race, you will, in fact, be competing in three competitions. The obvious competition is the one that occurs against the rest of the field, the goal of which is to get the best result possible. But before you compete against the field, there is another competition you must win, namely, the race […]
Read MoreSki Racing/Parenting: Set Healthy Expectations
Setting expectations for your young ski racer is an essential responsibility of parenting. Expectations tell your children what’s important to you and establish a standard toward which they can strive. But expectations can be double-edged swords. They can be a tremendous benefit to your children’s development as both ski racers and people or they can […]
Read MoreSports/Ski Racing: Bode Miller’s Road to Redemption
I don’t know Bode Miller personally, though I know athletes and coaches who know him well. I do know alpine ski racing. I competed internationally in my youth and have worked with ski racers, ranging from juniors to Olympians, on the mental side of the sport for 25 years. And I have followed Bode’s career […]
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