Well, Christmas is over and a very very merry Christmas it was. We are on to a bright, sunny, cold, and Happy New Year. Questions are slowly coming in. It is a bustling holiday season.
Just to clarify; I am not an engineer, a builder, a welder, or a mechanic. In other words, I am not so good at fixing things, but I am good at finding simple solutions to personal dilemmas.
I did get one very good question.
Dear Shirley:
I am a junior alpine ski racer for the Alyeska Ski Club. We train at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. During the holiday vacation we have the Coke a Cola series of races. I have been training very hard for both slalom and giant slalom events. I do really well in training. It is at the races that I get into trouble. I am not really nervous I just don’t race as well as I train. We will be heading down to Utah for some very important races the first week of January.
Dear Alpine Ski Racer:
There are several areas we could look at. Racing is different than training. There is an added dimension of pressure that we do not have to deal with in training.
You sound pretty confident in your ability as a young ski racer, so I am going to suggest you add mental practice to your training. These races are already “in the bag.” Over, done, history, but you can use your experiences from these races to create racing imagery scenario scripts for future competition.
Imagery means using the senses (seeing, feeling, hearing, taste, and smell) to create or re-create an experience in one’s mind. You can be as creative as your past experiences. Scientific research has proven your brain doesn’t know the difference between reality and the imagined.
Psychophysiological studies examining neuronal processing of motor responses in physical activity have found that when it comes to performing an action or simply imaging an action the brain doesn't know the difference. Knowing this an athlete can use imagery to supplement actual performance, make corrections, or enhance the potential outcome.
Ski racers often focus on visual and kinesthetic imagery. Visual imagery is the ability to see your own self ski the course. It is like watching a video of yourself in your mind. Kinesthetic imagery is movement imagery; you move your body in a fluid motion just as you would while you are racing through the course. If you look around at the start of an important race you will see more advanced racers using kinesthetic imagery prior to racing.
Since you appear to be proficient in your ability as an alpine ski racer I would recommend you focus on Motivational General Mastery (MG-M) and Motivational General-Arousal (MG-A) and maybe adding Motivational Specific (MS) for the pressure in competition aspect of performance.
MG-M is a mastery function: Being able to see and believe one’s self as confident, mentally tough, in control, and focused prior to and during the competition.
MG-A involves the content of your imagery. As an athlete, how you feel emotionally, feeling relaxed, focused, and excited about competing.
MS is specific imagery that represents goals and goal-oriented behavior such as winning an event, or receiving congratulations from other athletes.
What does this mean? You can create imagery scripts to practice of yourself preparing and competing in races. You can practice them in your mind, and the brain won’t know the difference between reality and the script you have created. You can practice imagery anywhere. It is best to find a quiet place where you are not interrupted and will be able to focus your attention on developing the skill.
Remember, “What you see is what you get.”
My favorite quote for athletes is, “If Your mind can conceive, your heart believe, you will achieve.”
Personally, I am thrilled you have the opportunity to compete in alpine ski racing right here in Alaska and then be able to go to the lower 48 and show them how good you are.
Anonymous questions regarding personal issues, health, fitness etc.at: askshirl@gmail.com.
Shirley K. Durtschi is a Certified Consultant in Applied Sport Psychology (CC-AASP), with a Ph.D. and M.S. in Sport Psychology, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a Chemical Dependency Counselor II (CDCII) for the State of Alaska.