The Mental Side of Swimming
There is no better plug for the impact that mental preparation can have than this well known quote by Australia’s greatest every swimmer and arguably the country’s best athlete of all time:
“Sport psychology gives me an advantage over myself that no physical training can ever provide. Sport psychology allows the athlete to use all of their mental strengths. This gives them a huge advantage over their opponents, as usually their biggest opponent is themselves.” Ian Thorpe, Olympic Legend.
At the highest level the differences between swimmers’ physical and technical abilities virtually disappear but there is still a big difference in the mental toughness of the winners and the losers. The earlier you can learn these essential mental skills the more chance you have of reaching your potential. At Condor Performance we teach swimmers of all ages and levels to be their own sport psychologists so that by the time we’re finished with them they can do all of the below without us having to be there to hold their hand:
- To control nerves and anxiety / help with the yips
- To bounce back from a poor race or competition
- To learn when it’s important to concentrate and focus and when it’s essential to switch off
- To design effective physical, technical and mental practice - not just go through the motions
- To balance swimming with life to prevent burnout
- To stay motivated by picking the right kinds of goals (yes, there are many)
- To learn how to think more accurately and less emotionally
- To decide if you really have what it takes to make it to the top of the swimming world
If you’re a swimmer or a swimming coach then you might like to contact us today for information about one of our upcoming free Q&A sessions. Fill in the enquiry form to the right and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can.