Did you know that almost everyone, even elite athletes, get “butterflies” before a competition? “Butterflies” signal the presence of strong emotional and physical energy that you can use to enhance your focus in and skill execution in performance or practice if you know how to use it.
How to Turn Disappointment into Motivation
Mental Toughness Lessons from World Figure Skating Championships
The skating world was a buzz this weekend with the skating of the 2016 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts. There were many exciting moments and also moments of disappointments. One of the most public disappointments was that of Gracie Gold.
United States National Champion Gracie Gold led the Women’s field after the Short Program. After she skated her Freeskate Program, she finished just off the podium in fourth place. Elite athletes are under the spotlight at times when they might want to be alone. Gracie gave us, the human side of sport, and an opportunity for younger athletes to learn that the feelings they have are normal and can be managed.
Continue reading “How to Turn Disappointment into Motivation”
Dealing with Frustration: Off Ice Training Tips
Part 2: Temporarily Grounded
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
–Winston Churchill
In Part 1 of this three part article, Dealing with Frustration: Opportunity Knocks , I talked about your choices when faced with an interruption in your training routine.
In this article (Part 2 of this series), we will talk about what you can do off the ice while you are waiting for your boots to come in. Part 3 will suggest how to use the time to build your Mental Game.
Continue reading “Dealing with Frustration: Off Ice Training Tips”
What You Should Know About Focus in Figure Skating
How Focus is like Skating in a Foreign Language
It’s competition day. You know you are prepared. You have been running clean programs in practice and you feel ready to skate your best.
The announcer calls your name. You turn towards center ice. Your last thought before you take the ice is “I hope I don’t fall.”
Continue reading “What You Should Know About Focus in Figure Skating”
6 Steps To Eliminate Self Doubt in Figure Skating
We all have thoughts that come out of nowhere to attack us when we least expect it.
In skating it often comes in the form of self-doubts. Take for example, a jump you fall on over and over again. Skaters can build mountains of self-doubting thoughts around this.
Continue reading “6 Steps To Eliminate Self Doubt in Figure Skating”
How to Prepare Mentally for Competition
Do you currently mentally prepare for competition? If not, you should have a warm-up routine that includes your mental prep…
By using a pre-competition routine, you can feel focused and prepared to succeed!
Your mental preparation is crucial for your best performance and involves more than just visualizing a successful performance.