The table of contents for sports psychology tips for swimmers and parents of swimmers from Craig Townsend.
Has it ever seemed that the harder you try, the further away from your goal you become? This is often experienced by swimmers whose desire to achieve a major goal becomes so all-consuming that they have trouble thinking about anything else. This often creates the situation where (much to their frustration) the goal appears to be moving further away from them instead of getting closer.
Have you ever felt that a swimmer scares, intimidates or just bothers you? Do you ever feel that you just don't have what it takes to beat them? Well, join the club! Many swimmers experience this at some time in their career.
What goes through a champion swimmer's mind before and during a race, compared to a regular swimmer? When two swimmers are at the same level of skill, talent and experience, this is what will separate the two at the end of the race.
Most swimmers I've worked with are either "frontrunners or underdogs". This means they either prefer to lead the race, or come from behind, to win. The majority of swimmers seem to prefer coming from behind to win races, rather than leading the race from the start. This way they seem to feel that they 'know where they are' in the race, instead of worrying about who's coming up behind them, as the leader often does.
Probably the biggest problem I have found facing most swimmers is a distinct lack of real belief in their own ability. I am not talking about external confidence (which is simply a brave face put on for competitors!). I mean real inner belief that you truly KNOW that can win, or swim the time you desire. This lack of real belief in oneself creates a mental approach of fear
What thoughts go through your mind before an important race? This question may be crucial to your results in the pool. It seems that the more science discovers about the human mind, the more important the power of thought becomes, especially in swimming. Believe it or not, every thought you think, and every word you say in the 5-10 minutes before a race can have a major effect upon your results
One of the greatest abilities the mind possesses for the swimmer is its ability to kill pain. The body, so top endocrinologist and mind/body expert Dr. Deepak Chopra tells us, possesses every chemical you will find in a pharmacy or drug store, including morphine, commonly used in hospitals as a painkiller. It is quite common to read in the newspaper that when a person has lost a limb in a major accident, they often never experienced any pain at the time of the accident, because the mind's powerful immune system instantly released morphine to the affected area, numbing all sensation for the victim.
The opportunity of being in contact with so many people has shown to me that all over the world a large number of swimmers, even at the very elite level, are struggling with loss of confidence and lack of inner belief and self-esteem. This seems to be an ongoing problem for many swimmers, and so today I am going to resist the temptation to teach any techniques, and simply drive home a powerful truth which must become embedded in the minds of all potential swimmers of the future.
