As a former Division-1 collegiate athlete I understand how challenging it can be to balance sport at a high level and maintain good grades. Late nights, early mornings, and taking exams on the road doesn’t make it easy to strike a balance between the two areas, but here are three reasons why it’s crucial to…
No matter your skill level as a player – beginner, league player or professional, there is one mental phenomenon that we all fight from time to time on the course. This phenomenon is the subtle but destructive change in our experience from enjoying the round and playing freely with little thought or tension, to a…
Knowing how to perform at your best more consistently requires astute awareness of what you are focused on, how you feel, and what you are doing when you are performing at your best and your worst. Like baking the ultimate cake, you have to know how to mix together your best performance ingredients. To help…
Showing talent early in sport or studies is a double-edged sword. On one side, your child learns things quickly, initially feeling confident with new skills and activities. On the flip side, there is a mental dilemma young talent often face in learning to cope with achievement. It’s not uncommon for worried parents to call me…
For the age-group swimmer who has to balance study, swimming, and make improvements in the pool, it is essential that you know how to train hard, but more importantly, how to train smart. In a recent post by swimswam.com, Ryan Lochte describes his commitment to training smarter in this Olympic quad., “I’m not just doing…
In your final moments of preparation for the most anticipated annual event for age group swimmers in Singapore you are most likely starting to experience some stress and nervousness along with thoughts running through your head about how you will perform. You say certain things to yourself or believe certain things about what might happen…
Competition time can be stressful for all swimmers no matter your age or skill level. Recall a typical morning on deck at a major meet and how you generally feel: Following your warm-up nervousness may start to set-in, and you feel your breathing getting faster and a heaviness in your chest. You have been making…