The Jump….Photograph courtesy of Coach Alexander Hill LSI Northern California
As many of you know I am working on finishing a book soon and from time to time I share a little bit of the content to show you what you are in store for. As the season progresses and you watch your youth athlete grow and develop in his or her skill set, you will likely see room for growth a development in the area of psychological balance and focus development. I have an entire chapter devoted to this subject just for our youth athletes. Here is a special, easy to do exercise to encourage and develop focus and confidence in the heat of the competition.
Below is a chapter excerpt on this very subject from the e-book called “Nurturing the Youth Track Athlete, Everything You Thought You Knew but Didn’t Have a Clue.
Psychologist Jeff Simons has described one of the best ways to organize the last 20-30 seconds before competition in what has become known as the “Quick Set Routine”
This three-phase routine is designed to provide a quick focus that can be used just before competition or as a means of refocusing quickly following a distraction. It is minimal in content, which appeals to many athletes, and involves a physical, emotional and focus cue. An example for a sprinter could be:
- Close eyes, clear your mind and maintain deep rhythmical breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth (physical cue)
- Imagine a previous race win, see yourself crossing the line first and recreate those feelings (emotional cue)
- Return your focus to the sprint start, thinking of blasting off on the ‘B’ of the bang (focus cue).
No matter how much you plan things often occur at the competition sites that are out of your control and your youth athlete’s control. Such events have the potential to impact on your athlete’s emotional state, distracting them from their goals and pushing them you out of the optimal state of preparedness. It is important to remember that things can only distract you if they let them. They do not have to negatively influence their mood if you can help them learn to let them go and refocus.
Don’t discount at an early age some youth athletes have already learned how to intimidate their opponent. When Lauren was 6 years old in her first championship at the California State Games a young girl 7 1/2 or 8 told her ”No 6 year old is going to beat me” Well, Lauren got to thinking about this and although she ran her best she finished 2nd for the silver. Later confided that the girl made her a little scared. Fast forward we were at the 2008 Phoenix Invitational and that same girl was there. But this time Lauren had gained confidence and we had taught her many strategies for focus and determination so when she saw this girl again they were able to play and laugh. Lauren had no worries.( I must admit that the following year Lauren was ranked first in the Nation and the athlete was in a higher division and didn’t equal her time, I believe Lauren’s talent and skill helped her overcome some of that intimidation as well.)
The moral of that story it is never to early to inform your youth athlete about different personalities and intimidation strategies on the track.It happens and only get more intense as the years go on.
I always ask Lauren what were the girls talking about in the staging area? Where people friendly or mean? What did you say to the girls if they were mean? If they were nice. I have heard many different takes on this time before the race and what one should do. In the end the athlete must learn to focus on the immediate task ahead.
Girls more so than boys have a tendency to sometime want to pal up and not beat their “new” friend. This happened once to Lauren while racing her cousin at a local summer all-comers meet.Her cousin said as they were running the 400m “Lauren wait for me and Lauren did for a while then she continued on.It was kind of funny, but if it were a real meet it wouldn’t have been. Don’t underestimate what very young (under9) girls or boys and what they will do before and after the gun fires.
Some opponents are actively seeking to unsettle, and by reacting to their comments or behaviours your youth athlete may be falling into their trap and giving them the psychological edge. By engaging in this psychological duel they may the risk of disrupting their emotional state, becoming over aroused and suffering a decline in performance. Reacting emotionally often means that they make the athlete discard their carefully laid plans and operate a strategy of retreat. Self control is best regained by not reacting to provocation. There are many other potential distractions for the athlete, including the actions of friends or family, coaches or team mates, environmental conditions, memories, delays and irrelevant thoughts.
All of these can detract from the preparation and plan. It is helpful to teach your youth athlete so be ready to clear their mind and refocus as necessary. Learning any physical skill takes time, effort and practice. Psychological skills are no different in this respect, so don’t expect miraculous overnight changes in your performance. If your youth athleteis a serious athlete, it is best to work with them yourelf as the parent or coach devise routines and mental plans. Once you are happy with the plan you have created, they can be introduced first to practice situations and latter to competition. Repetion is the mother of skill it is also the mother or focus mastery.You must repetedly remind your youth athlete of the goals of the season not just winning. A medal isn’t necesarily the goal a great time,doing their best is. It is a process not a destination.They have many years ahead if this will be there chosen sport through High School, College and maybe Pro’s. Lay a great foundation they can reflect on with a smile and much pride in accomplishment.
References
1. The Sport Psychologist, vol 2, pp 105-130,1988
2. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vo/17, pp65-69 ?.
3.Athletic-insight: the online journal of sport psychology, vol 3 (3)
4. In Pursuit of Excellence, Terry Orlick, Human Kinetics, 2000
5. Track and Field Quarterly, vol 92 (1), 1992
Hi Lorraine, Thank you for the reminder. Our children need to be instructed on how not to let their peers distract them. It’s difficult for them to understand that people are intentionally trying to distract them and get them off the game plan. I see this all the time. Yes, your right they still have a long way to go.
keep up the good work I look forward to the release of your book