ABCs of Mental Training: F is for Fear

BY AIMEE KIMBALL, PhD//Special Correspondent

One of the worst four-letter words in an athletes’ everyday vocabulary is “fear.” It is an emotion that most athletes don’t admit to, yet when experienced, is constantly influencing their behaviors. This article will focus on rational and irrational fears, how to accept them and keep them from influencing your performance.

Slaying the Big Bad Wolf

I have yet to meet an athlete who isn’t afraid of something. While a fear of spiders isn’t going to keep most athletes from performing their best, a fear of failure may. If you have a fear that is hindering you from performing your best, you have to examine the source of this fear.

Common sport-related fears are:

• Letting down/disappointing others
• Making a mistake
• Having a bad race
• Getting yelled at
• Not living up to your potential
• Getting hurt
• Not being as good as you/others thought
• Pain

If you can relate to any of these, take a deep breath, because it’s OK. It’s not all bad when you are afraid of something. It’s how you deal with it that counts.

First, write down the fears that you have and determine whether or not they are realistic. If you have an unrealistic fear, it’s important to remind yourself that it’s not likely to happen. Be logical with yourself, “Come on. I’m being silly. My parents will not be disappointed in me if I have a bad race.”

Second, if there is a level of honest concern (i.e., your coach will never put you in the event again if you mess up) then you have to accept this reality. Nine times out of 10, the more you focus on NOT messing up to avoid the reality, the more likely you are to mess up. If there is a realistic reason you are afraid to swim poorly, then focus on what you need to do to swim well, rather than what you are trying to avoid.

For example, the conversation you’d have with yourself would go something like this:

Negative You: The relay is counting on me. I can’t have a bad race or we’ll lose.

Positive You: Yes, the team does count on me, but I’m pretty good, so I’m more likely to swim well than to have a bad race. I just need to get a good start, have smooth turns, and really kick strong. I’ve done it in practice. I can do it now.

Third, have a routine. When athletes don’t have something they do consistently, there is a greater chance that something is going to feel off or that uncertainty will creep in. By having a routine that you do before every competition — a routine that does not change depending on how your last meet went — you provide yourself with a level of comfort. That is, when youalways put your goggles on first or you listen to “Eye of the Tiger” right before you take the block, you feel more in control of your mind and body, the experience feels more familiar, and you will be calmer—all things necessary in keeping those worries at bay.

Swim Your Best Race

When favored to win, athletes who are not mentally tough fear losing and compete that way. They are tentative and don’t do their best. When expected to lose, athletes often do better because they are focusing on causing an upset or because they are more relaxed since they have nothing to lose. If you find you fit into either category, remember who you swim should not determine how you swim. When you swim well against good opponents, you can swim well against lesser opponents. The mindset you have when you swim your best should be the mindset you have against every opponent.

Swim to Win

Fear of the unknown comes because we’re thinking ahead. Stay in the moment and don’t worry so much about negative outcomes. You are out there to do your best, so swim like it. If you swim to win, your focus is on swimming your best and making the most of each stroke. If you’re swimming not to lose, you’re thinking of swimming poorly and the “what-ifs” often get the better of you. Thoughts of losing lead to anxiety, thoughts of swimming well lead to confidence. Which mindset would you rather have?

Choose to be a warrior, not a worrier.

Make it Great!

About Aimee C. Kimball, PhD:

Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau. As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sports, including assisting the Pittsburgh Steelers in analyzing potential draft picks and the Pittsburgh Penguins in developing their players. She has been a featured speaker at conferences across the nation and has appeared in numerous media outlets across the country. Currently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes, coaches, corporate leaders, and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. (412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu)

Pre-Race Routines

BY JENNY SUSSER, PhD//Special Correspondent

Pre-race routines are valuable tools for swimmers that can help with pre-race jitters. A pre-race routine is what you do once you’ve arrived behind the blocks and before the gun goes off. Think about your favorite swimmer right now and try to remember what they do behind the blocks before a race. You might realize that it’s the same each time, race after race. Even Tiger Woods has a “pre-shot” routine!

Pre-race routines are important for several reasons. One is consistency. When you go to a meet, certain things will always vary: the pool, the blocks, the lane lines, the bathrooms, the officials and your competitors. Your pre-race routine will not vary, and that you can count on.

A second reason pre-race routines are important is that they can help “ground” you and make you feel more comfortable. Whether you are at home or away, it can help manage distractions by always giving you something to focus on. As you know, focus is key to swimming fast and when you get nervous, your focus unfortunately tends to go to how nervous you are and not your race or technical strategies.

To create a pre-race routine, think about the best race you’ve ever had and try to remember what you did behind the blocks. If you can’t remember exactly, it doesn’t matter, you just want to get the feel of it. Come up with a short pattern that you like, write it down, rehearse it for a few days until it feels natural, and voila!

Now, the most important part of the routine is not what you are doing physically, but what you are doing mentally during your pre-race routine. Come up with 2-3 positive thoughts to repeat in your mind and combine them with the physical pattern. That way you have a “job” for your body (something to do with the nervous energy) and a “plan” for you mind (something positive and supportive to focus on).

Jenny Susser is a sport psychologist with a PhD in Clinical Health Psychology. She works at the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for special Surgery in Manhattan.

ABCs of Mental Training: E is for Emotional Control

BY AIMEE KIMBALL, PhD//Special Correspondent
Whether it’s yelling at a parent, kicking a bleacher, or letting an expletive fly, most people have lost their “cool” at some point. Emotions are a part of every sporting event, and if we don’t recognize how they are influencing us, emotions can impact our performances. This article will focus on how to control your emotions by recognizing them, addressing them, and using them to your benefit.

Are Emotions Bad?

Most athletes perform their best when they keep their emotions to themselves. It is often the case that becoming too emotional creates an improper focus on the initial cause of the emotions (e.g., a bad start, an important event, a competitor from the other team). Emotions become most detrimental when they cause athletes to lose focus on what they need to do to swim well and instead create a focus on a past event, a negative occurrence, or a future unwanted action.

Even positive emotions can elicit poor performance. When a football player becomes elated because he just ran back a kick-off only to start celebrating two yards short of the end zone, you can say his emotions got the best of him. You’ve seen swimmers, a few strokes away from winning the race, let the opponent make a comeback. Often this happens because the swimmer in the lead was so caught up in the positive emotions of winning that their thoughts were no longer on the event. Thus, overconfidence is an emotion that can negatively impact individuals because it can make their focus less than ideal. Therefore, it’s not just negative emotions that we need to be aware of.

That said, emotions are not necessarily bad. Some people perform their best when they are emotional and claim their emotions help them to “get into” the event. I have worked with many athletes who tell me they play better angry, but I find the reason for this is because they consequently become more intensely focused on what they need to do in the competition. Essentially, certain emotions help them to create the focus that allows them to compete at their best.

While emotions can help people to focus better, the problem with swimming “emotionally” is that emotions can be physically manifested. Emotions often tighten athletes’ muscles, which changes their mechanics and decreases reactions, ultimately hindering their performance.

Having emotions isn’t bad. The key is in controlling the emotions you do have and not letting them cross the line from beneficial to detrimental.

Controlling Your Emotions

To make sure your emotions don’t hurt your performance, you need to know how to control them.

• First, take deep breaths as often as possible. A deep breath will slow down your heart rate and slow down your thoughts, both of which give you better control over your emotions.
• Have a pre-planned way to stop your emotions and refocus your energy more positively. If you are really excited, turn this excitement into a desire to swim well and focus on what you need to do. If you’re often angry after a race, have a post-race routine that you do after all races (good or bad). This may include listening to three songs before talking to anyone and then logically assessing your swim by thinking about what you did well and what you will work on for next time.
• Be creative and come up with other ways to physically and/or mentally release the emotion. Pull on your cap and say “Pull it together” or as you get out of the water after a poor race think about leaving it behind.

Watch Your Body Language

Your mind will react to what your body does. If you put your head down, throw a water bottle or slump your shoulders, you are essentially telling your mind that you’re mentally checking out. If you keep your head up, your eyes focused ahead, and your comments positive, your mind will know you have already let go of the bad race and are ready to keep going. This helps to control your emotions by treating bad races (or other negative occurrences) as nonevents—just part of the sport—and showing your mind that you are in control of your body and your emotions.

Practice Emotional Control

Outside of sport, there are many situations that test our emotional fortitude. By practicing staying calm when you are sitting in traffic, in the slowest line in the grocery store, or fighting with a sibling, you are training yourself to be in control of your emotions. Just like practicing your physical skills is essential for peak performance, so is practicing your emotional skills. So start taking control of your mind, your body, and emotions in every situation.

Make it Great!

About Aimee C. Kimball, PhD:

Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau. As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sports, including assisting the Pittsburgh Steelers in analyzing potential draft picks and the Pittsburgh Penguins in developing their players. She has been a featured speaker at conferences across the nation and has appeared in numerous media outlets across the country. Currently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes, coaches, corporate leaders, and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. (412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu)

Five Simple Things to get Faster

Kelton Graham, a senior coach with Club Wolverine, in Ann Arbor, Mich., offers a few simple suggestions to help you swim faster right now:

• Swim deliberate laps. There is always something to work on, whether it is proper hand entry or tight turns. Focus on those things and avoid swimming mindless laps.
• Streamline. This may seem trivial, but streamlining, along with the underwater dolphin kicks can be quite a weapon. Some refer to the dolphin kick as the "fifth stroke."
• Develop effective race strategies. Sometimes swimmers can improve the very next race if they change something in the way the race paces. Analyze your race. Did you go out too fast or too slow? Did you bring in your kick too early or too late?
• Relax before you swim. Enjoy the meet. Don't worry about the things you can't control. Focus on the things you can control in your lane.
• Warm up before and cool down after each event.
• Make sure to discuss your race with your coach before and after each swim.
• Don't be afraid to change things. If your coach makes a suggestion about how to get better, don't keep swimming the same way just because it worked in the past. Try something different.
• Make your weakness your strength. If breaststroke is killing your IM, hop in the breaststroke lane at practice. Or, spend time with your coach after practice and work on it.
• See what the best are doing and see if there is anything you can apply to your own race. Sometimes just watching others who are better than you can help you find things that you are missing in your own race. Talk it over with your coach and see if it fits you.

Swimming Fast When the Pressure's On

BY CHRIS CARR, PhD//Special Correspondent
One of the greatest challenges for a swimmer is learning how to be a great competitor, especially when the race begins.

In my years of experience as a sport psychologist, I have found that there are a few keys to performing well under pressure:

See competition as a challenge rather than a threat. If you prepare for your big event with excitement, anticipation and enjoyment, you will be able to get the butterflies in formation and use your nerves in a positive, performance-focused way. As a swimmer, your greatest challenge is the ability to improve your times in each event you swim. The other swimmers are irrelevant to your own performance, so if you are distracted by other swimmers in the race, you take away focus from yourself. See the race as a great challenge for your best performance to occur.

Have a planned pre-race mental routine. If you have a routine that you’ve used all season, do not change it at the big event. Trust in your routine will aid you in feeling composed, confident and focused. A good mental routine includes deep breathing, cue words (e.g. smooth, effortless, strong) and directed focus.

Narrow your focus as you get closer to your race. Whether you sit in a corner and listen to your iPod, or walk around with arms swinging and moving, it is important to allow yourself to begin focusing on your pre-race cues (e.g. smooth stroke, strong kick, -- words that represent your best swimming in that event) and manage the distractions by focusing on what you have control over and seeing yourself swim fast in your upcoming event. Many swimmers I’ve worked with have said that if they imagine a funnel, they see all the distractions at the top and their positive race cues at the bottom of the funnel, leading to a fast swim.

Before you start, take a deep breath. Just before you step up on the block, or jump in for backstroke, take a deep breath in through your nose (imagine cool, relaxed air entering your body) and a deep breath out through your mouth (releasing fears, anxiety, doubt from your body). Then find an “anchor cure,” a word that best describes your fast swim in this event, and focus on this anchor cue last before the gun.

Stay composed, confident and focused during and after your swim. Many swimmers I have consulted report that their fastest swims are often their easiest swims. Remember that once the race starts, your mind can switch off and trust your body to do the work.

Remember, sometimes when you swim badly you win, and sometimes when you swim fast you finish third. The key is to focus on your best race for each event you swim. Have fun, stay focused and swim fast.

Chris Carr, PhD is a Sport & Performance Psychologist with St. Vincent Sports Performance Center in Indianapolis. He is also USA Diving's National Team Sport Psychologist.

ABCs of Mental Training: D is for Dedication

BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PhD//Special Correspondent

For many swimmers, their sport is more than just a hobby. It’s more than just something they do to get fresh air, meet people and get some exercise. There is nothing wrong if you swim just for fun, but if you treat sport as hobby, it’s hard for you to expect to swim your best. Anyone looking to perform to their potential needs to be dedicated to their sport. This article is for team leaders and individuals who want to take their performance and the performance of those around them to the next level.

Get on the Same Page

Athletes participate in sport for many different reasons. While individuals’ rationale for competing might differ, in order to be successful the whole team needs to be working towards the same goals. The first way to develop more committed athletes is to make sure they are all on the same page with what the team is trying to accomplish. Open and honest communication about team goals and about each individual’s contribution to the team’s mission is essential. At the start of each season, the team should discuss the answers to the following questions:

1. What do we strive to accomplish? How do we accomplish this?
2. What drives us to be better? How does our motivation help us to reach our goals?
3. What do you enjoy about swimming? How can we find balance between your enjoyment and what the team is trying to accomplish?

From this discussion, you can create a team motto and before each practice huddle as a team and say your motto to remind the team what they are working towards and what everyone has committed to. When members of a team have a shared goal, they will begin to demonstrate a greater dedication to their sport and team.

Relationships Are Key

Once everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected of them, it is important to interact with team members in a way that enhances their commitment to these goals. Leaders need to do more than just be role models, it is also essential that they demonstrate their respect for, interest in, and care for their teammates. Team leaders can use the following suggestions to help build a strong sense of mutual trust and support amongst teammates, which will ultimately improve dedication to each other:

1. Ask for input and constructive advice and be willing to listen
2. Get to know individuals outside of sport
3. Remove hierarchies. All members are equally important
4. Encourage support for everyone’s success. Compete but cooperate

Dedication Starts with Motivation

Ultimately individual dedication hinges on individual motivation. The athletes who often demonstrate the most dedication are those who love the sport and work to see themselves improve. Getting athletes to focus on becoming their best can be difficult, but when leaders build a culture emphasizing pride in effort and daily improvement, team members become more dedicated to what they do in both practice and competition. By having athletes state goals for each practice and by rewarding the process of achieving those goals, athletes will take to heart the importance of individual improvement. This increases their sense of intrinsic motivation which will then enhance their dedication to the team.

Know Your Purpose

Another important aspect of dedication is sense of purpose. Athletes want to know that they are contributing something to their team. For athletes whose talent may not be as great as their effort, it can be hard to feel like they are important to those around them. Thus, team leaders need to be cognizant of each swimmer’s strengths and make a point of consistently acknowledging and thanking them for their contributions. Whether it’s their physical ability or their support of teammates, individuals want to know what they contribute is meaningful, and when they discover their purpose they will further dedicate themselves to bettering the team through their identified strengths.

What if I Won’t Dedicate 100%?

Knowing how to be fully dedicated to something is a very important life skill to have. If you don’t ever learn what it means to give 100%, how will you know if you can be successful outside of swimming? There are many reasons why athletes do not fully commit to their sport, some are completely understandable (involvement in other activities) while others need to be overcome (laziness, don’t want to make the sacrifices). Some athletes are at a stage where they just swim for fun rather than the competition, so giving 100% to swimming isn’t important to them. Whatever your current reason for not being fully dedicated, make sure you are still maximizing your commitment level given varying priorities. What I mean is, if you sign up for a swim team, know what is required and maintain that commitment. If you are not willing to put forth the effort that the team requires, there might be a better team for you because you are likely to end up unhappy if you are on a highly-competitive team but you aren’t a highly competitive person. If you find a team that matches your motivation, you will most likely enjoy the sport more and be able to match your dedication level to that of your teammates. I caution you not to sell yourself short though. Some people don’t want to be on a competitive team because they don’t believe the “extreme” swimmers can have any fun. However, the majority of people who give 100% love the sport and find most of it enjoyable. They find the fun in knowing they are getting better, pride in the hard work they put in and excitement in beating someone new or in getting a PR in a race.

Levels of Dedication

• No Dedication: Showing up at practice when I feel like it.
• Minimum Dedication: Showing up to mandatory practices.
• Moderate Dedication: Working hard at mandatory practices and some optional practices.
• High Dedication: Working hard at all available practices and doing a little bit extra outside of the pool
• Total Dedication: Working hard at all available practices and doing everything you can outside of the pool (mental training, nutrition, strength/flexibility training…)

If right now you are moderately dedicated to your sport but really want to become a better swimmer, you do not have to totally dedicate yourself to swimming and make your life revolve around it. In order to see some improvement, you just have to do a little bit more than you are now. Maybe you don’t have time for extra training, but you may be able to read the latest articles in Splash magazine or watch an instructional video on YouTube . To become the best swimmer you can be and to truly reach your potential, you do need higher levels of dedication, which include out-of-pool activities. Ultimately, you have to choose your own dedication level, which should be based on your ultimate goals and willingness to make sacrifices. Olympic dreams require more than moderate dedication, while participating on a high school team may not. It’s up to you whether you want to see how good you can be, but your potential in the pool can only be met through consistent dedication. Dedicating yourself to a sport is about working to accomplish something and putting in the effort necessary to meet the challenge. It is much more disappointing to finish a race with a less-than-ideal time and think to yourself, “If only I did a little more” than to finish and say “I gave it all I had.”

Dedication Decoded

Someone once told me that “Dedication is when you are bent over, drenched in sweat, just about to pass out, and then you smile.” I think there’s some truth in the idea that dedication is about pushing your limits and still enjoying the process. If you can get yourself and your team to do that, you know they have the dedication necessary to succeed.

Make it Great!

About Aimee C. Kimball, PhD:

Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau. As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sports, including assisting the Pittsburgh Steelers in analyzing potential draft picks and the Pittsburgh Penguins in developing their players. She has been a featured speaker at conferences across the nation and has appeared in numerous media outlets across the country. Currently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes, coaches, corporate leaders, and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. (412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu)

Kate Dwelley: Keys to Success

Kate Dwelley was named to the 2007-08 U.S. National Team after winning a bronze medal in the 200m free at the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Here are the keys to her success:

Be happy. You have to be happy. When I’m happy, I use nervousness as excitement, which puts me in a better place. I have fun with swimming. I just swim better when I am happy. I took a class on sports psychology, and they said people who are happy are more likely to go out of their comfort zone and reach new goals.

Trust your coaches. Sometimes, you think, “I know everything about swimming,” but the truth is, your coaches know a lot more than you do. You have to trust that they know what is best for you. So give them your feedback, but know they have been working hard on a plan and have been putting a lot of thought into your program, so follow that.

Challenge yourself. Each time you try, even if you fail, you will learn a lot about yourself. Because the next time you come up against that barrier, you will know how to deal with it, how to move beyond it, and be ready for the next challenge.

Don’t rest on your laurels. You have to be looking for what that next step will be after you reach your goal. You have to achieve your accomplishment and then work toward the next step. That next step will be harder, but you want it to be so you can continue to gain new experiences.

Let the people who care about you help move you forward. You can’t do everything on your own, so make the most of your resources. But remember it’s a give and take, so don’t forget to give back to the people who are giving so much to you. Take time to help them with their own goals.