In a Slump? Don’t Press the Panic Button
I just returned from the men’s Eastern Cups at Stowe last week. I have to say how impressed I was by the quality of skiing. From bib 1 to 117, there was not a bad skier there. I spoke to a number of the racers during the two days and I sensed one emotion quite […]
Read MoreCompete Like You Practice or Practice Like You Compete?
One of the first questions that I ask athletes and coaches I work with is: Should you compete like you practice or practice like you compete? By far, the most frequent response is: You should compete like you practice. This answer seems perfectly reasonable if you think about it. When you practice, you’re relaxed, feel […]
Read MoreRace Like You Train or Train Like You Race?
One of the first questions that I ask racers and coaches I work with is: Should you race like you train or train like you race? By far, the most frequent response is: You should race like you train. This answer seems perfectly reasonable if you think about it. When you train, you’re relaxed, feel […]
Read MoreBattle the Course, Not Yourself
Ski racing has become a combat sport in which you’re armored from head to toe and carrying weapons (razor sharp ski edges as swords and pointy ski poles for spears) to do battle against the course, terrain, snow conditions, and weather. You are also doing battle against the other racers in the field. Unfortunately, too […]
Read MoreFrom Good Skiing to Fast Skiing
I saw a very different Mikaela Shiffrin win (in a tie with Anna Fenninger) the first World Cup race of the 2014-15 season and claim her first World Cup GS victory. What I saw in Mikaela’s skiing was not good. “What?,” you say, “She just won a World Cup race and you’re saying that it […]
Read MoreUnified Model of Performance Psychology
A fundamental question I have been exploring in the 30 years that I have been working in the field of performance psychology is: What does it take to succeed? My life’s work has been devoted to answering this question so that anyone who is willing to pursue their dreams can find success. Yet, in recent years, I have […]
Read MoreSki Racing Imagery: Your Most Powerful Mental Tool
Note: This article is another encore presentation of an article that never gets old. If you do anything to work on the mental side of your ski racing during this off season, it better be mental imagery. Why, you ask. Because there is no more powerful mental tool than mental imagery and it can have […]
Read MoreMake Mental Training a Priority in the Off-season
No, this article is not a lame attempt at self-promotion. Rather, it is a challenge for you to take an essential, yet often neglected, piece of the ski racing success puzzle and make it a priority during the off-season. Let me elaborate in three ways. First, I speak to racers, coaches, and parents around North […]
Read MoreSki Racers, Get Up to Speed for This Season: A Review
Hopefully, you’ve spent the summer getting ready for this winter of racing. If so, you should be stronger, better technically, and more mentally prepared than ever before. You’re now entering the final stage of preparations for the upcoming race season with a final period of conditioning followed by getting back on snow and tuning up […]
Read MoreThree Steps to Athletic Success
I have been thinking a great deal about what it takes for athletes to achieve what I consider to be an essential goal in all of your efforts, namely, when your game, match, round, race, or other type of competition concludes, you are make two statements: “I was as prepared as I could be to […]
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