| |
The Mental Game Of Swimming
Mind Over Matter Results In Success
Bill Cole, MS, MA
Over many years I've been the mental game coach to many high-level
swimmers and divers who compete at the Olympic, international,
national, regional, state and local levels. It's been a pleasure
helping them improve their mental skills and in developing
the mental toughness required to win under pressure.
How about you? How is your mental game? Are you happy with
how you approach swimming from a mental perspective? What
in your mental game could you improve? What have your coaches
told you that needs improving from a mental stance? Have you
taken time to write down your mental strengths and also what
you need to work on to become great?
Here are four mental strategies you can use to raise the level
of your game—immediately.
- Relax More To Go Faster: It's common for many
swimmers to practice fast, yet compete slower. Why is this?
A swimmer who puts forth good effort in training may believe,
erroneously, that this daily, normal level of effort will
be insufficient for an actual meet. So they get to the meet
and attempt to "amp up their effort level" 10-80% higher.
They are not used to this new level and that alone can mess
up their coordination. But the larger problem is tight muscles.
Yes—the extra effort also results in tight muscles,
and you know what they say—a tight muscle is a slow
muscle. The solution? Relax and race at your normal effort
levels. It's what you know and what you can handle.
- Don't Blow Big Meets Out Of Proportion: If you
tell people you are "going to a big meet" that can create
pressure and stress and make yourself feel tight mentally
and physically. Better to look at these larger meets as
"just another day at the office". This way you will not
blow it up out of proportion. The meet is indeed larger
and more important, but looking at it as just one more meet
can keep you calmer. I have found over my 30 plus years
of mental game coaching that very few people need to "psych
up" for a meet. Most everyone is already a bit nervous about
it, so instead, they need to "psych down" and relax.
- If You Are A Star, Expect Some Flak: I am coaching
a high school freshman who has great times and has become
a star on the varsity swim team. Unfortunately, she has
encountered much resentment and negative comments from the
older members of the team. She asked me why. I said it's
because they believe your success is making them "look bad".
This is a very sad aspect of human behavior. Humans can
be so insecure that they will often drag someone else down
so they can appear to be elevated in status in comparison.
If you are a star, expect some negativity to be thrown your
way. This is simply a fact of competitive sports life.
- Keep Your Parents Under Control: On meet day,
maybe your parents try to tell you how to prepare. They
may tell you to "get your game face on" very early in the
day. If they see you being too sociable, too close to the
meet, they may believe you are not taking it seriously enough.
You can tell them I said to cool it. Being sociable is a
very smart and common way athletes stay calm and keep stress
at a low level prior to a contest. No one wants to be thinking
about the meet 24-7. That just burns you out. Tell your
parents to relax, as you are doing.
Now you have four quick-acting mental strategies you can
use right away to improve your swimming. And now you know
more about the mental game of swimming, and of how to manage
your own mental approach. Remember to relax at meets, look
at them like a practice session, expect some envy from others,
and keep your parents under control. Do all this and I know
you will see improved times, and have more fun.
Copyright © 2014 Bill Cole, MS, MA. All rights reserved.
This article covers only one small part of the mental game.
A complete mental training program includes motivation and
goal-setting, pre-event mental preparation, post-event review
and analysis, mental strengthening, self-regulation training,
breath control training, motor skill training, mental rehearsal,
concentration training, pressure-proofing, communication training,
confidence-building, breaking through mental barriers, slump
prevention, mental toughness training, flow training, relaxation
training, momentum training, psych-out proofing and media
training.
For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities you
need an assessment instrument that identifies your complete
mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take
65-item sport psychology assessment tool you can score right
on the spot, visit https://www.mentalgamecoach.com/Assessments/MentalGameOfSports.html.
This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths
and weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a
guide in creating your own mental training program, or as
the basis for a program you undertake with Bill Cole, MS,
MA to improve your mental game. This assessment would be an
excellent first step to help you get the big picture about
your mental game.
Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on peak performance, mental toughness
and coaching, is founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching
Association, https://www.mentalgamecoaching.com.
Bill is also founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps
organizations and professionals achieve more success in business, life and sports.
He is a multiple Hall of Fame honoree, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published
book author and articles author, and has coached at the highest levels of major-league
pro sports, big-time college athletics and corporate America. For a free, extensive
article archive, or for questions and comments visit him at www.MentalGameCoach.com.
Article Source: SportsPsychologyCoaching.com
Return to The Mental Game
of Swimming Articles directory.
|
|
