It’s one thing when your coach tells you to take your first week after a competition to work on your jumps. You can do these with your eyes closed – though probably not recommended – but your brain is quiet and you can handle these jumps one at a time.
Then one day you get to the rink and your coach tells you to run through your long program, with triples.
Whoa. What you talking about Will-ice? (google Gary Coleman, Different Strokes or ask your parents)
You get “brain freeze” hearing those words. before you even get on the ice. Your inner critic goes wild, and worry and self doubts shatter the peace in your brain. The confidence you jumped your way into during the first half of the week is gone.
What if there was a way you could get past that anxiety so that you can do the clean programs you want?
The Dreaded Program Run-Throughs
You think about the whole program and are overwhelmed by the huge task ahead. It’s a lot to do.
In programs you have to do jump after jump in quick succession, students tell me that they feel like they don’t have any time to recover before facing the next jump, then the next, and the next.
Then you pop a jump and you see “that” look on your coach’s face.
It unnerves you and you can’t seem to recover.
You brain was unprepared for battle.
Your brain has become overwhelmed thinking of the huge task ahead. You are only thinking of the outcome of the program; it is either clean or not clean, there is no in-between.
You feel unprepared, like you have to go from zero to 100 mph in 3 seconds or like you are slowly but surely sinking in quicksand.
Take it Step by Step
The solution is not as out of reach as you might think.
First off, you need to accept the fact that running programs is a major stressor for you and take steps to prepare yourself both physically and mentally.
It is inevitable that you will have to run them, so let’s start by breaking them down into smaller chunks.
Remember, you get to the top of the ladder by taking small steps
How would you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You don’t need to take ALL the steps, just the next one…
Get Physically Prepared
1) Here’s a great program jump drill to help you take the first step.
Jump your long program jumps in the order they appear in your program. Do one after the other at opposite ends of the rink (i.e. do jump number 1, then skate to the other side of the rink and do jump number 2, then skate to the other side of the rink and do jump number 3, and so on).
This way, you get the following benefits:
- Practice doing a series of elements one after the other but with less difficulty than full program run-through.
- Improved endurance
- Opportunity to practice using your focus cues
- Opportunity for your mind to be clear as you do a slightly more complex task of one jump at a time.
2) Run program sections.
Be one step ahead (or perhaps one jump ahead) by practicing your programs in sections before your coach tells you to do a full run-through.
If you have never done sections before, break you program up into sections of 3 elements each. Start practicing these sections with your jumps, singles, doubles then triples.
Increase the difficulty of your jumps or the number of sections that you do as your endurance and jump accuracy improves.
Mindset Reset
The MOST important thing is to get your mind in the moment!
Go into your practice sessions with this mindset;
- I know what I want to do
- I will do the best I can.
- I recognize that it is okay to make mistakes.
- Mistakes are an opportunity for me to learn.
Mistakes mean that you can become something better than you were before. You can have a great practice session even if you make mistakes.
Think of each moment you are in (doing the jump) instead of the outcome (clean program).
Build your confidence by conquering each moment, one step at a time.
When your coach mentions long program run-throughs, remind yourself of the practice session mindset checklist above.
You can get to the top of the ladder (program run-throughs) more smoothly when you prepare yourself mentally and physically with small steps.
Which step do you think you can use to combat the anxiety from long program run-throughs? Is there anything you do differently? Let me know in the comments!
Mental skills training can help to keep your emotions on an even keel so that you can practice and compete your best.
Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.