Mental preparation for swimmers

According to Mike Edger mental training is the segment of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping athletes break through the mental barriers that are keeping them from performing up to their peak potential. A lot of coaches and swimmers avoid to use mental training as they feel that it has nothing beneficial to their performance to offer them. As we all know great performances is a combination of technique, training, nutrition, and psychology. So I say that developing a mental preparation routine will only help swimmers improve their performance.

Fear of swimming success

During my coaching career I have come across many swimmers that are scared about winning a race, often feeling too scared to finish a race off, or pass a particular swimmer in a race or during swim practice. I’m sure you’ve come across athletes with such ‘problems’ too. This is the result of a variety of reasons like intimidation and fear but the bottom line is that these swimmers are simply scared of success.

Stress management is sports

Stress is experienced when an individual feels that they cannot cope with a situation with which they are presented. If an athlete is in a stressful situation then their athletic performance, whether this be in competition or in training, will be effected. The coach can limit the effect on performance of competitive anxiety by assisting the athlete to identify an appropriate coping strategy.

There are many aspects of an athlete's life that can be stressful at certain times. This may arise because of commitments in the areas of work, study, sport or family/social life. When commitments in a number of areas coincide then the effect can be stressful which may result in commitments being compromised or in worse case situation their health being affected. You need to consider these areas when planning your annual training program. By planning we can reduce the level of stress that we (as a swimmers or a coach) will encounter.

Motivation in sports

Motivation is an internal energy force that determines all aspects of our behaviour; it also impacts on how we think, feel and interact with others. In sport, high motivation is widely accepted as an essential prerequisite in getting athletes to fulfil their potential. Howeve, given it's inherently abstract nature, it is a force that is often difficult to exploit.

Motivation is thought to be a combination of drive within us to achieve our aims and the outside factors which affect it. With this in mind, motivation has the following two forms, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Mental skills of a successful athlete

You don’t have to be a professional athlete or an Olympic champion to be a successful athlete. Nor do you have to have a room full of trophies, win a state championship, or make the front page of the sports section.  Successful athletes are those who feel that their sport is important to them and they’re committed to being the best that they can be within the scope of their limitations – other life commitments, time, finances, and their natural ability. They set high, realistic goals for themselves and train and play hard. They are successful because they’re pursuing their goals and enjoying their sport. Their sport enriches their lives and they believe that what they get back is worth what they put into their sport.

The four D's

What makes a swimmer trully great?

What makes him/her be ahead of the pack?

In this blog I will try to answer these questions. All elite swimmers have about the same levels of fitness (endurance, flexibility and speed mainly), feel of the water, pacing and about the same anatomical characteristics. So, what makes the gold medal winners at the Olympics and World Championships differ than the rest. The answer is the four D's, which are psychological qualities that help swimmers set higher goals and keep the focused during the long and tiring (and some times frustrating) training periods.

Purposes of goal setting

Elite athletes are goal-setting machines, and the habit of continual goal setting is a primary reason they climb the ladder to the elite level. An important part of creating an environment of excellence is encouraging continual goal setting. Too often, goals are thought of as big intentions for the end of the season. But for goals to nurture future high performers, they have to be everywhere all the time. Goal setting means having a point or purpose that you are trying to accomplish in everything you do.

Setting goals

Athletes (and people) who succeed are goal-oriented and they have a vision. They create sensory-rich dreams and they turn those dreams into action through goal setting. Goal setting is a master skill for personal growth and peak performance. If you don't know where you are headed, you're probably going to wind up somewhere other than you want to be.