SwimPsych | Swimming Psychology
Sport Psychology for Swimmers, Swim Coaches and Swimming Parents
I was given a stark reminder recently that for any competitive swimmer, at any level, setbacks are a reality. Injury, illness and other uncontrollable factors mean that all of a sudden the event that you’ve been preparing for – the goals that you’ve set yourself, perhaps the opportunity to gain international honours or a National [...]
I was recently approached by a male senior swimmer ‘G’ who wanted help preparing for competition, because he was experiencing issues with anxiety and confidence, and losing time from starting the race feeling tense. The senior Nationals were around 6 weeks away and he wanted some help preparing for the event and races beyond. Presenting [...]
After two Olympic Trials, 16 year old Molly Renshaw apparently found recently herself in the apparent position of being the only swimmer in the world to have a FINA ‘A’ time, be in their country’s top 2 and not be selected for the London Olympic Games (as reported by PullBouy.co.uk - not yet independently verified) Understandably [...]
When it comes to preparing for swimming competition, most swimmers put more into the physical than the mental aspects of preparation. Indeed, there is an awful lot more to preparation than packing your bag and getting physically ready. Taking Responsibility and Feeling Confident It’s important for swimmers to take responsibility for those aspects of their [...]
Why use Goal Setting? People tend to equate goal setting with motivation, and tougher goals with higher levels of motivation, but that’s a simplistic view that can lead to ineffective goal setting, anxiety and problems with confidence. On the other hand, effective goal setting can help swimmers: Focus on the right things at the right [...]
We see it in sports like golf and tennis, where an elite athlete’s skills fail them, often dramatically, under pressure. There are many different explanations for choking in sport, but can it happen in swimming? What is Choking? Simply put, choking occurs when an athlete’s performance suffers under pressure. Most often we associate it with [...]
OK, so the title of this post suggests that training is actually boring. That doesn’t mean that it is for me or it should be for you, but training can get to be repetitive and we’ve all probably found it hard to get excited about 8x400s at some point in our lives. There are two basic [...]
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