What kinds of pressures do athletes face today?

There are probably two ways to look at that pressure. In a lot of Olympic sports, performing at a certain level really might mean the difference between being able to continue [in that sport] or not. You might have the physical capability to compete for another four years, but if you can’t get a contract and get money to support yourself and your family, you might have to move on. That financial pressure is really a huge part of it for a lot of athletes [who turn to banned substances]. The other pressure that can permeate any level is when athletes have their identity and sense of self really intimately intertwined with their athletic performance. And you see this even with a lot of high school kids; their identity in school is “the golfers.” Everyone knows that they golf, everyone knows that they do well and so there can be this huge, huge pressure on them because they don’t really have much in their lives in terms of how they evaluate themselves outside of their athletic performance. There are some people who just go all out [with performance-enhancing drugs] right from the very beginning, but a lot of athletes start out kind of small. They feel that their identity is threatened or they feel like they need to do something to maintain that sponsorship or that money or that income, so they might make one small move or decision and another small one and another small one and eventually they find that they’re in way over their heads. ”They might make one small move or decision and another small one and another small one and eventually they find that they’re in way over their heads.”

What conversations have you had with athletes about the pressures to perform — and to use banned substances?

Usually, [it's the athletes talking] about the pressures and considering [the doping] option as a fleeting idea of what it would be like, as opposed to [actually doing it].

Most of the athletes, when they get to that point, have very few people who they’ll talk to. They try to keep it very positive, very secretive. Oftentimes athletes are pretty good at rationalizing. You know: “If everyone else is doing it, I’m not cheating; I’m not gaining an unfair advantage, just leveling the playing field.” So then there’s no need to discuss what they’re doing with anyone else and, really, they don’t want to discuss it because they don’t want anyone to shatter that little story that they’ve been telling themselves.  Continue reading →

By Bobby Low       I want to elaborate on a concept that I have been thinking about.  Hopefully I can do a good job illustrating this for you as a mental skills to develop.  I believe that embrace challenges with the right mentality is a very crucial skill to becoming high performing.  I remember early in my career as a pole vaulter I hated going into a competition where the weather was not perfect.  Meaning face winds or cross winds or less then ideal 75 degree weather.  I always became frustrated before the competition even started, that would lead to elevated anxiety and or course a poor performance.  Later in my career I told myself that I wanted to be a great conditions jumper.  I spent my career in Utah, and if you know Utah is can snow in the summer time and be 80 in the winter.  It is just unpredictable.  So I spent time with a performance enhancement expert developing a mindset of being a great conditions jumper.  So we created a plan for what to focus on when the conditions were bad.  I told him that you want to scoot your starting step up a little to prevent over striding because of the face wind and always remember to start out relaxed.  Often pole vaulters start out too fast because they think they have to work harder in a wind.  Well I used this plan then I got excited about the next time I could use this plan in a competition.  I began to embrace the challenge ofwanting to beat the elements. Shortly there after I got my chance.  We were down at Arizona State University, and it was a night meet, early in the season, it had been raining most of the day, our event was postponed a few hours because of the rain, the temperature was about 50 and we have a very uncharacteristic face wind coming from the east.  For those of you that know ASU, there is always a west wind and most of the time a pretty good one.  I started to get excited to try my plan in the condition.  I wasn’t excited about the conditions, because when the conditions were great that usually means great heights and great pole vaulting.  But this was my chance, remember moving my step up making sure that i did not over stride and starting out relaxed.  The competition started and there were some great jumpers in the competition, I was not the best one there.  I was in the top 6 or 7 maybe but definitely not the best.  I did not change anything about my competition plan.  I came in at 17 feet, made it on my first attempt.  Then went to 17′ 6″ and I was the only one left in the competition.  I ended up making 17’6″ and trying some jumps at 18′. I ended up jumping right at my season average even in bad condition.  All because my mentality was in the right place.  I had a plan and I executed that plan and won the meet.  It was a great learning experience that lead to many more successful meets in poor conditions. We need to embrace challenges. We need to repeat in our minds I can do this, even in bad conditions.  I can make this bar, I can train as hard as I need to in order to be great.  Whatever the challenge is, we need to embrace it head on and with motivation to overcome that challenge.  This mental skill will help us feel in control and help us keep our anxiety low.  Pole vaulters and pole vault high in poor conditions with the right mentality.  more

Larry Lauer, Ph. D.–Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University

Nicki Moore, Ph.D.Assistant Athletics Director for Psychological ResourcesUniversity of Oklahoma

What is procrastination?

• Dictionary.com says it is, “to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.”
• As a student-athlete, you have many responsibilities, so it may be tempting to “put off” a few things.
• If you find yourself avoiding or delaying doing something, you may be procrastinating, and it is probably hurting your performance.

• As with any change that you want to make in your life, it is important to first examine “why change?” That is, for what reasons are you personally interested in changing?
• To facilitate this understanding, it can be helpful to make a 2 lists:

Gloria B. Solomon, Ph.D., CC, AASPA common occurrence that all athletes encounter is performance errors. All athletes make mistakes; it is a natural part of learning to be competent at any activity. Since mistakes are normal, it is beneficial to help athletes accept that errors will occur in sport. A unique approach to dealing with performance errors is presented by Halden-Brown (2003). In her book, she addresses the normalcy of making mistakes in sport and how coaches can use these errors to train athletes both physically and mentally. I propose that teaching athletes about resilience will facilitate their ability to accept mistakes and use these errors as a catalyst for optimizing performance.

What is imagery?

• Imagery is also called visualization or mental rehearsal
• Imagery means using all of your senses (e.g., see, feel, hear, taste, smell) to rehearse your sport in your mind.

1. To help you get the most out of training. Top athletes use imagery extensively to build on their strengths and help eliminate their weaknesses.
2. To compete more effectively. Imagery not only helps athletes to regulate the anxiety they experience during competitions, but also helps athletes to stay confident, focused and mentally tough.
3. To speed up your progress on the road to top. Athletes who have reached the highest levels in their sport have used imagery throughout their career as a tool for developing their sport skills.
4. To help stay motivated along the way. Imagery is also a tool that can help athletes to maintain a vision of what they would like to achieve in their sport. Athletes can also use imagery to assist them in setting their daily goals, as well as to stay motivated during tough training sessions.
5. To keep in top form when training is not possible. Injuries will inevitably occur during athletes\’ careers, which will cause them to miss training sessions. In these situations, athletes can use imagery to help them to maintain their abilities during the rehabilitation process and to help them cope with their injuries. Imagery can even help the healing process to move along more quickly.    Continue reading →

Larry Lauer, Ph. D.   The competition in FOX’s reality television show American Idol has whittled down to approximately 10 contests. The cream are rising to the top. Yet, some of the most entertaining television occurs during the first few weeks of the show as Simon, Randy, and Paula tour the nation to find pop star talent. Contestants often “bomb” as they attempt to be the next Idol. In fact, many of them sadly cannot hold a note. So, why would they put themselves out there on national television for my Simon to remark “don’t quit your day job”? For some it is about getting attention. For many others, however, they truly believe they can be the next Idol. Yet their singing is atrocious. Clearly they are lacking in self-awareness.Similar to talented singers and musicians, great athletes often have tremendous self-awareness. They have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. They know when they are attempting to do too much such as using a weaker skill in critical moments of a game. Would Shaq shoot 12 foot jump shots in the last two minutes of a game? Not likely. He would drive to the hoop and use his size and strength.Great athletes also are realistic and recognize their capabilities and limitations. This does not mean they give up on their dreams or do not try to get better. Instead, they work with and on their limitations. In practice great athletes work hard to overcome limitations such as only being able to use one type of serve or only being able to dribble with the dominant hand. And, during games they develop game plans and strategies to use their “weapons” or strengths against an opponent’s weakness. That is why you will see many tennis players like Steffi Graff run around their backhand to hit inside-out forehands; they are using their “weapon.”

• Listen to Yourself – be aware of your self-talk during competition. Is it positive and productive or negative and unproductive? Also, how do you coach yourself when learning skills or tactics?
• Listen to & Accept Feedback – sometimes the feedback that coaches, parents, and teammates give us is not fun to hear. However, to be your best you most learn from those around you.  Continue reading →