Your Competitive Edge

Mental Training: We ALL Benefit

It's no secret that sport psychology as a discipline has been grown exponentially over recent years. Many athletes and coaches alike now utilize mental training principles as much as the physical, and the United States Olympic Committee houses it's own program in both Colorado Springs, CO and Chula Vista, CA. Could this be part of the equation in Team USA's increased performance levels across most sports? Highly likely. Although in elite-level competition, mental ability is often the deciding performance factor. However (for the rest of us), gaining an early understanding of psychological principles in sport and subsequently practicing them often-developing one's own mental skill set -ups the achievement bar higher for  any athlete's potential in sport and all other life arenas.

The discipline is becoming so visible and useful that numerous athletes, many of them household names, are forthcoming and endorse using sport psychology in their regular training regimes. Below is a brief list amongst many of famous athletes who have either publicly acknowledged either using sports psychology services or ascribe to using mental training techniques:

Tom Brady, Quarterback of the NFL's Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots

Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing- 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist

Raj Bhavsar, Gymnastics, 2008 Olympian

Kara Goucher, Track and Field- 2008 Olympian and 2009 Boston Marathon 3rd Place Finisher

Tiger Woods, Golfer-Winner of most Major titles in PGA history

Erica Bartolina, Pole Vault-2008 Olympian

Cal State Fullerton Men's Golf Team

Cal State Fullerton's Women's Volleyball Team

San Jose State Women's Golf Team

Stanford University Baseball Team

Sources: www.tinssp.com; www.johnfmurray.com; 24 August, 2010.

Distraction Reduction Revisited

In full disclosure, the case study for this installment is the author herself. Sometimes the best way to illustrate a principle is to experience and model it in real life. Hope you all enjoy and can learn from my experience in order to enjoy your sport and stay focused with minimal effort possible.

Luckily, a recent raceday provided the opportunity to do an experiment on eliminating distractions. I will admit, this happened almost solely by accident, but we are always to be aware of what we can learn as we gain experience in our respective sports.

In short, I participated in a fairly competitive weekend 5k road race and was rested and prepared environmentally to have a good run: I had a bag packed, food for the morning prepared, and went through my normal routine. I listened to good music and tried to stay to myself before the starting gun. I typically wear a GPS device to track my average pace, distance, and splits. On this particular race, and admittedly on others as well, I found myself constantly checking on how far and how fast I was going. When the numbers did not fit my "ideal"-regardless of conditions, I became more frustrated, which created increased tension, and created additional sensations of fatigue. In short, I had been allowing a seemingly harmless training tool to derail my focus on the task at hand. I began focusing more on numbers and arbitrary things versus being fully present for the race.

Sometimes the things we think are helping us may actually be hampering us.

Luckily, on this day, I got a do-over. Rarely do I ever nor do I typically recommend participating in two physically demanding tasks in a day (unless it's the nature of the sport, such as decathlon, swimming, or triathlon); that being said, I took the opportunity to enter a second race later that day, this time no GPS. Taking off the GPS in this case allowed for a more open-minded attitude: I gave up a degree of perceived control in this event, but focused on the things I had genuine control over: my attitude and effort. A mantra I repeated: "I am a runner, not a number".

Note: it is always best to wait a minimum of four hours, hydrate  and replace nutrition effectively before a second run.

This paid huge dividends in the end. On the course, I faced no distraction of arbitrary paces I *should be hitting, and I ended up running a faster time. The difference: I was focused on the positives-having the opportunity to run again, the freedom of not having a goal time, spending time with friends and fellow athletes, and donating money for a cause. 

In summary, instant performance feedback is not necessarily a distraction for all athletes. My challenge to all is to find what triggers a performance decline, or at least robs you of some of  the usual joy you get from competing. Take that potential distraction out of the equation and see what the results are. For best results, log what you did, your impressions upon doing so, and what it did for you in the end.

Another Perspective on Mental Toughness

An established tool that many counselors, myself included use to help others gain a new perspective on their situation is reframing.  Psychobabble aside, the principle of reframing is intended not to rationalize away /make excuses for why something happened, but to see the picture from a different angle. After all, what is done is done. How we respond from setbacks and learn is what really counts. 

For example: After careful preparation and tapering, a swimmer still does not reach her time goal in the 200 Fly in a swim meet. She exits the water frustrated initially and talks to her coach about her recent experience. "What were the positives, what did you do right"? the coach asks her, then "What was out of your hands"?. Taking an objective stance, she realizes that some things happened that she was not prepared for: she did not get a clean start due to a previous false, and her goggles were not sealed. In the moment, she should have surmounted the obstacles, but in reality, the end result is not always what we planned. Acknowledging the things that happened objectively is a start, and can divert the athlete from the unnecessary negative viewpoint regarding a performance. Mental toughness can include the ability to see things from a different perspective.

This raises the question of mental toughness. What generally comes up in an athlete's mind regarding the subject is the ability to power through in the moment, not let the opponent get inside your head, blocking out pain, blocking out distractions, etc. etc. This is definitely part of the toughness equation. But is there more to it? 

Mental toughness can also be extended to how one responds to setbacks and performances one views as sub-par. One can see a poor performance as a setback, being out of shape, or the beginning of a 'funk'. How would a mentally tough athlete approach the situation? Perhaps they would be able to process through a rough practice or competition. Perhaps they would highlight the controllables ("C's") and the uncontrollables ("UC's") of the given event.

A mentally tough athlete can compartmentalize the lack of performance due to difficult weather conditions or stressful background circumstances. A mentally tough athlete is both flexible and forgiving in regards to their performance. A mentally tough athlete is able to reframe when things don't go as planned (i.e. "I did everything I could on that day", "I still have 'x' events this season" etc.). 

Thinking "I will move past disappointment" (or a variation of it) may be a good mantra to practice. A mentally tough athlete can think "so what?" after a bad game.

In summary, being tough not only involves being able to block out and gut out variables when competing, it cal also involve accurate appraisal and emotional control following perceived setbacks.

Why Sport Psychology?

Better yet, why not??

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