Competition Archives - Page 3 of 8 - ICE Mental Game Coaching

Skatergirl and the Upcoming Competition

Two weeks earlier, Skatergirl secured a spot for herself at Nationals by placing fourth at the championship series. Initially, she’d been super excited that she’d made it through, but now with the competition coming up in two weeks, she was in full preparation mode.

For the past several weeks, Skatergirl had been on fire during practice.

Her jumps were crisp. Her run-throughs were clean. She was even hitting all the rotations in her spins, which was something her coaches had been nagging her about recently.

Life was good. Everything was going great.

However, today Skatergirl was falling apart.

How to Let Go of Mistakes

Holding on to your mistakes during performance and competition is a huge mental mistake. This habit can also negatively affect your skill improvement and the quality of your practice sessions as well.

The time to work on mistakes is always in practice, never in a performance or competition. Continue reading “How to Let Go of Mistakes”

Handle the “What Ifs” to Handle Your Nerves

A major cause of dread, fear and nerves that can cause poor performance is what goes on between your ears.

I’m talking about the “what ifs?” that run around and multiply in your head before practice or before a competition.

Everyone has their own favorite version of the “What ifs” also known as head trash. Continue reading “Handle the “What Ifs” to Handle Your Nerves”

Don’t Mistake Pep Talks for Mental Skills Training

The Meltdown Before the Fire

Fast forward to the end of the year. Qualifying competitions are right around the corner and Skatergirl is freaking out.

She’s been training hard all year*. She had a couple of really good skates at the earlier competitions. (Well, let’s say there were a lot of challenges this year…so the problems might even be worse…)

How to Stop One Bad Competition From Multiplying

Understanding How to Stop Overgeneralization

Skatergirl cringes every time she thinks of her Regional Qualifying Championship Event last year when she fell on 4 of her jumps. What happened? She really doesn’t know but embarrassment and humiliation are the two things she distinctly remembers feeling. It was the worst she ever skated. Thankfully, this season has been going pretty well. It has been a normal one with the expected ups and downs.

How to Build a Pre-Competition Routine: The Secret to Success in Competition

Do you want to skate your best in competition? Then preparation is essential.

Preparation that starts early, not just two weeks before your event. The beginning of a new season is the perfect time to start.

A common challenge skaters face is to skate their competition programs at least as well as they do in practice.

You might have heard this before: “Practice the way you compete, compete the way you practice.”

So how do you do this?