Mental Game Skills for Skating Success
Skatergirl is working on her triple flip.
Skatercoach asked her to do ten reps, focusing on keeping her head forward on the takeoff.
This correction is supposed to keep her over her left side in the air.
Skatergirl was letting her head rotate too quickly during the takeoff, which was pulling her off axis.
Skatercoach wants her to get a few extra reps under her belt, before her next lesson.
Are you stuck? Are your jumps great one day and a disaster the next?
Do you usually find it routine to practice well, but recently just “don’t care”, and don’t feel it’s helping?
Do you usually eat in a balanced, nutritional way, but have a really hard time even knowing it’s helpful?
Were you diligently doing your program run-throughs only to
find that recently, you haven’t been doing them as consistently?
Is your motivation low? Do you have zero energy? Do you feel
discouraged, bored or burnt out?
Don’t worry, there’s a solution for your woes. Mindfulness
Continue reading “This Is How You Build Mindfulness”
Let’s look at a simplified view of your brain through the lens of mental skills training. There are two parts of your “brain”, the front brain and hindbrain.
The front brain is where your critic lives.
It’s the part of your brain that thrives on being in charge.
The hindbrain is where your muscle memory lives.
It’s the part of your brain that you want to be in to perform your best.
Skatergirl is frustrated. No matter what she tries, she can’t land a triple salchow to save her life.
This isn’t a new jump for her. It was the first triple she landed, and usually she can do it in her sleep.
Even though she’s supposed to work on her spins, Skatergirl decides to try it one more time. Unfortunately, she falls, so she decides to do it again. And again. And again.
Continue reading “Champion City or Lala Land, Which Path Are You On?”
You’re an athlete.
You have goals.
You know where you are.
You know where you want to be.
And, you have a rough idea of how you are going to get there.
You’re laser focused on your goals.
Nothing else matters.
Skatergirl is getting ready for a big competition.
A competition that will determine whether she goes to nationals or not.
She wants to do well.
She doesn’t want to mess up.
So, when she arrives at the competition she tries extra hard.
Unfortunately, “trying to hard” makes all the difference.
Instead of performing like she does in practice, Skatergirl’s short and long programs are splatfests.
She’s a human zamboni
She’s on the ice more than she’s on her feet.
By the time she’s done, the ice is smoother than after an ice resurface.