The Psychology of Swimming

Transcription

1 The Psychology of Swimming MIND OVER BODY IN COMPETITION BRETT HAWKE - AUBURN UNIVERSITY BA PSYCHOLOGY

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3 The athletes Olympic Finalist/Medalists Cesar Cielo Brazil. Champion 50 free/bronze 100 free WR holder free Fred Bousquet France. Silver Medalist 2008 Relay Matt Targett Australia. Final 100 free 2008 Mark Gangloff USA. Final 100 Breast 2008/Gold medal relay Gideon Louw South Africa. Final Relay Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace Bahamas. Final 50 free 2012 Tyler McGill USA. Final 100 Fly 2012/Gold medal relay Marcelo Chierighini Brazil. Final 100 free 2016 Bruno Fratus Brazil. Final 50 free 2016

4 You can t think and hit at the same time Yogi Berra

5 Sports psychology and performance enhancement Sports Psychology is about improving your attitude and mental game skills to help you perform your best by identifying limiting beliefs and embracing a healthier philosophy about your sport

6 Self Confidence Three essential factors in developing self confidence: Athlete-Coach relationship Performance contributors and performance detractors Training to perform

7 Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace First woman under 47 sec 100 yard free

8 Athlete-Coach relationship Develop working rapport Demonstrate knowledge, credibility, competence Build trust: Anything is possible! Break down barriers: Mental and physical Build self confidence Get under their skin Find what motivates them: Internal or external

9 Performance Contributors Competitive Success Positive self-talk - I am powerful beyond measure! Visualization and imagery Feeling the skill/movement (Divers) Staying focused on task and not training partners Accepting and releasing control of situations - Feeling

10 Ian Thorpe 200 Freestyle The race of the century

11 Performance Detractors Impede competitive success Fear of failure Failure should not cripple you, but motivate you Negative self-talk Words are powerful Negative thoughts or imagery You are what you think you are Overanalyzing move on to the next task quickly Distractions social media, relationships, parents

12 Training to perform

13 Training to perform Focus on potential What you see is eventually what you become Build a competitive environment Recruit personalities and attitudes Create a learning/sharing environment Break down components of the race and train the components Process over outcome

14 Value of compartmentalization Compartmentalization is an unconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid cognitive dissonance, or the mental discomfort and anxiety caused by a person's having conflicting values, cognitions, emotions, beliefs, etc. within themselves. In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress (discomfort) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, when performing an action that contradicts those beliefs, ideas, and values.

15 Bruno Fratus Pan Pacs breaths in morning swim 22.4 Panic attack in warm down pool Heavy breathing Saw an article criticizing him - took his phone away on bus Instructed to start fresh and reset, forget everything that happened for the next 5 hours Focus on the action and movement in warmup for finals Get to the other side as fast as you can, don t look to side only look straight ahead 21.4 in Final and won gold

16 Confidence In competition Not a wish, hope, or dream. A CHOICE! (Tyler 2012 Olympic trials) It s a choice - Make the choice to act confident. Get the performance that YOU want. Is an action over a feeling stand tall, shoulders back, smile often Visualize exactly what you want to see happen performing in front of a crowd Have confidence conditioning statements on your phone, above your bed, on the bathroom mirror Set daily reminders on your phone

17 Where is your focus? (Cesar V s Fred) Confidence

18 Worlds 50 free final 2009

19 QUESTIONS?