Olympics Post #2: Get Set!



In my last post I wrote about the first of the three key tasks Olympic athletes do as competition time approaches. The second task identified by Sean McCann, a sport psychologist with the USOC, is building confidence.

Now everyone knows that self-confidence is an important factor in an athlete's success but how do you go about building it?

And equally as important, how do you hold on to it?
McCann offers these three strategies:

1. Recognize that confidence can be built and is not just something people are born with (or without). If you don't have it, you can get it -- although you'll have to work for it.

2. Know your strengths. McCann writes that, "in the last few weeks before a major event, doubts, worries and self-criticism tends to increase in frequency. Therefore, this is an idea time to remind yourself how good you are." Here's two ways to do it:



  • Make a list of your best attributes. McCann's only rule when having athletes add items to their list is that they must be based in reality and must be something that they are "better than average" at.


  • Recall past successes. The days leading up to competition is the time to really work on imagery. Visualize in as much detail as possible (use all 5 senses if you can) some of your favorite performances. It will serve as a powerful reminder of what you've done and what you can do again.

3. Work on building confidence every day. Just as building physical strength or endurance takes daily practice, building confidence is a continuous process -- one that athletes have to work on every day. McCann suggests 3 techniques for building confidence each day.



  • Keep an accomplishment journal. List at least one positive accomplishment for each day (I ask the athletes I work with to list 3!).


  • Make training successful. Structure workouts so that you've had one success by the time it's over. McCann states, "This doesn't mean everything is easy, but every day should have at least one moment of succes that is highlighted, even if it is only two minutes of a two hour practice."


  • Have daily goals. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know the importance of goal setting. Often we talk about setting long-term and short-term goals and neglect to mmention the importance of setting daily goals. The advantage of daily goals is it gives us the opportunity to rack-up some smaller successes that form the foundation for confidence and, in term, larger success.

As I mentioned in my previous post, while these suggestions were originally directed to coaches of Olympic athletes, they are equally valuable for athletes of all abilities (coached or self-coached!).

So put them to good use. Remember when you watch the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games tomorrow, that many of the athletes participating got to where they are by doing these things.


Up next: Task Three: Shifting into "pure high-performance mode."

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)