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 [...]
This morning’s online Telegraph ran with comments from US Swimmer Ryan Lochte that Team GB’s swimmers were “too individually focused” and that they should have hidden their disappointment for the sake of the team (thanks to @pullbuoy for pointing it out). Apparently, Nick Gillingham, a former Olympic medallist for Great Britain said otherwise, that Team [...]
What does it mean to be competitive? We tend to think of people for whom winning is everything, perhaps will do anything to get one up on someone else, or gain at the expense of others. I don’t know many people in swimming that are competitive to the point of being destructive to others. I [...]
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 [...]
It’s long been believed that there’s an ideal level of physiological arousal for performance (the ‘Inverted U’ Hypothesis), and more recently that each individual has their own level (e.g. IZOF). However, even the view that each person has their own ideal level of arousal is simplistic. Whatever your level of physiological arousal, this can be [...]
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