This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from sport psychologist Dr. Alan Goldberg. Goldberg offers advice on how to focus mentally on your race.
Goldberg’s Tip:
In relays, swimmers tend to focus more on having fun and their teammates, rather than on their time or who they need to beat. As a result, they tend to stay calm and relaxed. However, in their individual events, their concentration unknowingly shifts to the outcome or the competition. When this happens, they begin to get nervous, physically tighten and lose their confidence. Since the secret to swimming fast is being relaxed pre-race, it is absolutely critical that you learn to control what you focus on before and during your individual races. This means that No. 1: You need to stay in your own lane and just focus on YOU. Forget who you’re racing, how big or fast they are, and instead keep your concentration on what you are doing in between your two lane lines. No. 2: Keep your focus in the NOW. When you mentally stay in the now before and during your individual events, you will remain calm and confident. This means that you want to focus on your race, one stroke at a time.
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