Ski Racing is a Leap of Faith
As I discussed in my last post, regret is one of the worst emotion you can experience after a race day, season, career or life. I also described how much of the work I’m doing these days with ski racers is as focused on developing the right attitude toward racing as it is on learning […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Don’t Have Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda in Your Ski Racing
Over the last few decades, I have worked with many ski racers, from juniors to World Cuppers. One thing I have noticed is that the most powerful work I do with racers isn’t your typical mental training where I teach them about positive thinking, mental imagery, routines, and how to stay intense and focused (though […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Threat vs. Challenge
I have found that a simple distinction appears to lie at the heart of whether racers are able to ski their best or crumble under the weight of expectations and tough conditions on race day: Do they view the race as a threat or a challenge. What happens when you are threatened by something (think […]
Read MoreSport Imagery: Your Most Powerful Mental Tool
If you do anything to work on the mental side of your sport, it better be mental imagery. Why, you ask. Because there is no more powerful mental tool than mental imagery and it can have a huge impact on your sports performance.
I say this with such conviction because it had that effect on me when I was a young athlete at Burke Mtn. Academy, a private boarding school in Vermont devoted to developing world-class ski racers (it was also the first full-time sports academy in the U.S.) One summer I took a course at a local college that introduced me to the power of mental imagery. I applied it to my sport as part of my final project for the class and then continued to use it throughout the following fall and into the competitive race season. The results were nothing less than spectacular. From doubt came confidence. From distraction came focus. From anxiety came intensity. From timidness came aggressiveness. From inconsistency came consistency. And, most importantly, from decent results came outstanding results.
When I studied mental imagery in graduate school, I learned why it is so powerful. Imagery is used by virtually all great athletes and research has shown that, when combined with actual practice, improves performance more than practice alone. Imagery also isn’t just a mental experience that occurs in your head, but rather impacts you in every way: psychologically, emotionally, physically, technically, and tactically. Think of mental imagery as weight lifting for the mind.
In my more than 25 years of work with professional, Olympic, collegiate, and junior-elite athletes, mental imagery is the tool that I emphasize the most with them and the one that I have seen have the greatest impact on their performances. Here’s the bottom line. If you aren’t engaged in a consistent mental imagery program, you’re not doing everything you can to achieve your athletic goals.
Read MoreLatest News: Heading to Doha, Qatar
I’m leaving on Saturday for Doha, Qatar for two speaking events at the ASPIRE4SPORT international conference next week. I will be giving a keynote address on Prime Sport: The Psychology of Athletic Performance and participating in a panel discussion on the role of technology in sport psychology training for athletes.
Read MoreSki Racing: Your First Days Back on Snow
Greetings from beautiful Loveland, Colorado, where the air is thin, snow is amazing (kudos to John Hale and his crew!), the nights are cold, and the days are warm and sunny (in other words, ideal conditions for early season skiing). I’m out here this week and again next week working with racers as they put […]
Read MoreSki Racing: “Money in the Bank, Baby!”: Final Prep for Race Season
It’s hard to believe that we are only weeks away from the start of any ski season. The snow guns are blasting in Colorado and I will be on snow with athletes in ten days. For some of you, I’m sure you’re excited to be able to snap into your skis again after being off […]
Read MoreSports: Young Athletes Forced to Choose Between Club and High School
I see this dilemma constantly in youth sports. Young athletes who aspire to be the best by playing on a club team, but also want to enjoy the competition of high school sports, must often choose one or the other. Is it fair? Is it necessary? Here’s a great article that describes the conundrum that […]
Read MoreCycling: Motivation to Achieve Your Cycling Goals
Motivation lies at the base of the Prime Cycling pyramid. Without your desire and determination to improve your cycling performances and achieve your riding goals, all of the other mental factors, confidence, intensity, focus, and emotions, are meaningless. To become the best cyclist you can be, you must be motivated to do the work necessary […]
Read MoreDeveloping Competitive Routines
Many sports, including baseball, football, tennis golf, track and field, and many others, are comprised of a series of many short performances with breaks of various lengths in between. For these sports, whether between at-bats in baseball, downs in football, or points in tennis, being well-prepared for the first performance is not enough. Competitive routines can be invaluable in ensuring that you are prepared for every performances within a competition. One thing that I found that separates the great athletes from the good ones is their ability to be consistently ready for every performance. By being totally prepared for every performance, you can be sure that you won’t give your opponents “free points” because you weren’t ready.
The time between performances is essential to consistent competitive performance. What you think, feel, and do between performances often dictates how you perform. You must take control of the time between performances to be sure that you’re totally prepared.
I use a four-step competitive routine called the Four R’s. The first R is rest. Immediately after the conclusion of the previous performance, take several slow, deep breaths and let your muscles relax. This is especially important after a long or demanding performance in which you become fatigued and out of breath. It’s also important near the end of a long competition in which you’re tired and need to recover as much as possible to be ready for the next performance. Deep breathing and relaxing also help you center yourself and better prepare you for the next R.
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