Sport psychology, mental, self image, and motivation tools for swimmers and other athletes, and their parents and swim coaches, and a look at the scientific approach to the aquatic sports.
If you have ever been to a swim meet, you have seen it – swimmers sitting in a corner, lying on the floor, walking around or even in the ready room with their earphones on and music pumping. In my own experiences as a swimmer, I have found it to do so many things, depending on what I wanted it to do.
Through hypnosis we can control a physical pain, perform better in our works, in sport and change our attitudes to exams, tests and job interviews. We can eliminate fears, worries, anxieties, stress, cope better with an illness, setbacks, negative emotions, limiting beliefs, habits, negative memories, experiences, and become a much more confident and successful person.
Links to more information on sports psychology, from the About.com Guide to Sports Medicine.
More links to sports psychology information, from the About.com Guide to Gymnastics.
Guest Author Brendon Dedekind relates some of his experiences with using music to help performance.
How did John Naber become one of the best swimmers in the world? Luck? Great coaching? Genetic Gifts? Hard work? I believe the biggest factor was his outlook - his personality and mental skills - in short, his attitude.
Visualization is used by many to gain that very slim margin of athletic victory. Here are a few tips from About.com's Sports Medicine Guide.
Mind Tools explains what "getting in the flow" means to an athlete, and how to slip into it. This section is navigated through up and down arrows at the top of the article.
Using a training and performance diary can be very effective in developing and enhancing successful athletic performances, from
Mind Tools. This section is navigated through up and down arrows at the top of the article.
A fear of water. A non resourceful state, negative feeling, an unwanted reaction, a pattern of behaviour experienced by an individual, which prevents the swimmer from learning a water skill or freely entering a mass-volume water environment such as a swimming pool, sea, lake, ocean, or river.
The Online Journal of Sport Psychology. Updated monthly, this site offers specific articles and research results on sport psychology.
Before you assume that a slump is mental, you have to rule out the physical or technical factors that might be causing it. Don't assume you have a head case until you're sure; then these tips may help you out; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
Singers, yoga teachers, many athletes, and others know a secret about breathing. Here is a way swimmers can use breathing to help relax anywhere, including before swim practice or a big swimming race.
Individual and team performance is directly related to how an athlete feels about him/herself. Athletes will learn faster, perform better and have fewer performance problems when they feel good about themselves; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
EC3 - MentalCoach is a private firm, specialized in mental training for athletes and teams. Our approach and technology makes us unique in North America. If you are mentally healty and interested to developp your mental capacities for performance, you will find an exclusive program for you here.
Swimmers, can saying a few words to yourself while you are in the ocean or swimming pool make a difference in how you swim? Can what you think or say to yourself while you swim in a race change what happens? Swimmers could benefit - and swim faster - by applying a little sports psychology.
Bill Tschirhart of the Canadian Curling Association explains how to use the SAMM (specific, accountable, measurable, mutual) system of setting goals,
Tim Fitzpatrick shares some of his ideas on sport psychology; from the ASCA.
An introduction to utilizing imagery and simulation to maximize athletic development, from
Mind Tools. This section is navigated through up and down arrows at the top of the article.
A large article on mental preparation, form Bill Tschirhart of the Canadian Curling Association, but applicable to all sports. Includes ideas on visualization, arousal, performance states, and exercise to help develop and control these areas.
If you want to maximize your swimming potential and reach the goals you've set, then you have to train yourself mentally as well as physically; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
A collection of quotes, stories, and positive self-statements; From Motivating Moments.
Science Sportsware's collection of quotes to inspire any athlete.
Olympic Swimmer, Media Personality, and speaker John Naber talks about swimming motivation for swimmers. At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, the USA men's team had one of the greatest single team performances of all times. One of the noteworthy swimmers on that team was backstroker/freestyler John Naber, with four Gold and one Silver medal. He was the most decorated USA ATHLETE at the games.
A few keys to overcoming your fear of swimming.
When an athlete focuses on uncontrollables he/she is more likely to "choke." This article has 11 guidelines to help train athletes to better manage competitive stress; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
What you say or don't say to your athletes just prior to big meets can make or break their performance. Follow these steps to maximize the athletes' potential; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
Looking for answers to: How much should I push my son or daughter to swim? As a coach, how should I deal with an athlete who may have disordered eating issues? As a coach, what can I do to help build confidence in my swimmers? Some of the answers are here.
An internet-based resource, specializing in information services related to the mental health professions, aimed at Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and other related mental health practitioners, both professionals and students.
How many of us talk to ourselves? I mean before, during, or after we swim - I know I do, and I'm sure most everyone else does as well. What we say makes a huge difference in how we perform. Negative words can crush a performance; positive words can result in a swimmer doing what they may have previously thought impossible.
What can goal setting accomplish? Increases in concentration, improved self-confidence, and better performances, according to research quoted by
Mind Tools. This section is navigated through up and down arrows at the top of the article.
How to best improve your swim? The answer is simple (and diabolic). Swim more. I have come up with a few simple motivational techniques to get me in the pool that I will be happy to share with you. (Roman Mica/Everyman Triathlon)
Net Swimmer gives 6 easy to follow tips on getting the most from your performance.
If you are a triathlete, coach, or someone interested in participating in an upcoming triathlon, Sport Psychology Library: Triathlon holds many answers to establishing and maintaining the mental discipline needed for what is certainly one of the most grueling and psychologically challenging events in all of sport.
Link to Price ComparisonSports Coach presents ideas on relaxation, meditation, and imagery.
SOAP (Strategies to Overcoming Aquatic Phobias) and Water for those afraid to go near or in water offers dry-land counseling and teaches strategies to overcome aquatic phobias for all ages in a compassionate and friendly atmosphere.
Sports Coach's tips on handling stress.
How these factors contribute to a athlete's success, from
Mind Tools. This section is navigated through up and down arrows at the top of the article.
Dr. Keith Bell, well known sport psychologist, with articles, and tips, and materials to help swimmers, coaches, and parents.
Success in any area of performance involves using your mind as well as your body. Your mental approach to what you are doing includes your belief, attitude, confidence in yourself and your team, your ability to concentrate well, cope with mistakes and pressure, and so on. When your body and mind are working together, actions flow with a kind of effortless excellence that is called performing or playing in The Zone.
Most swimmers want something from their efforts. You might want to set a new personal best, or finish an event that you see as a challenge. Or even enter that first swim meet. If you do not want something out of your training, then what are you doing it for?
After thirty-three full years of observation, it has occurred to me that some parents must internally delight in the idea of sabotaging their child's swim career. They must for some perverse reason WANT to do this, since they work so incredibly hard at it and are so remarkably successful. Hereafter, my top ten list of means and methods - and more seriously, some clear examples on positive alternatives. (John Leonard, ASCA)
There is a special moment when I first get in the water and push off the wall that I use to get myself to the swimming pool. It feels just like flying. I’m completely submerged, weightless gliding through the silky water. The only sound is that of the bubbles as they rush past my ears. The outside world is completely gone. It is just me, my own thoughts, and the gentle warm water as it slips past my skin. This moment is complete and full of promise. It lacks nothing and wants nothing.
Motivation is a critical ingredient to success both in and out of sports. Follow these guidelines/strategies to help develop winning motivation on your team; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
Focus… what is this thing so many swimmers do as they prepare for a swimming race? We have all heard the saying that sport is 80% mental and 20% physical. Olympian Brendon Dedekind shares some of his mental training or sports psycholgy tips from his swimming career.
Some athletes may use self-talk, some athletes like to be in a quiet environment, whereas some athletes will be very talkative.
Looking for tips on nurturing your future Olympian? This CD produced by USA Swimming and the US Ski & Snowboard Association, “Successful Sports Parenting,” may be just what you need. It is hosted by Deborah Phelps, a middle school principal and mother of six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps. “Sports Parenting” is the most comprehensive resource ever created to support the successful development of young athletes – from novice to elite level – of all sports.
Whether the cause of VCD condition (vocal cord dysfunction) is physiological or psychosomatic, these techniques can help with this condition. There are at least three ways to look at these methods or techniques.
99% of all parents are sane and workable. Successful coaching includes deliberately making an effort to train them. These hints will help; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
Your child and his coach need you on the team. They can't win without you! These useful facts, guidelines and strategies will help to make you more skilled in the youth sport game; by
Dr. Alan Goldberg and Competitive Advantage.
