Skill Building – Part I
Successful athletes possess an assortment of skills. You can probably rattle off the physical skills: strength, flexibility, conditioning, etc. Do you know that what goes on in your head also contributes to – or detracts from – sporting success?
Dr. Jack Lesyk, director of the Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, has formulated a model called "The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes." Whether your goal is a top ten ranking, having high-quality workouts, or learning to dive from the block, developing and applying mental skills can contribute to your success. Using these skills can also improve performance in school or in the workplace, and can enrich your personal life.
Lesyk divides the nine skills into three levels: basic, preparatory, and performance.
The four basic skills, or Level I skills, covered in this article are attitude, motivation, goals and commitment, and people skills.
The model states that attitude is a choice, sports is an opportunity to compete against yourself, and that it is important to maintain a balance between sport and other areas of your life. I think Theodore Roosevelt put it best: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." No matter how you feel, try to get the most out of practices. Use personal yardsticks for an accurate and satisfactory way to measure your success.
Motivation has a forward thinking theme. Although successful athletes don’t enjoy everything about their sport, like gasping for air between repeats, they focus on the benefits of their sporting experiences. They have developed a long-range view, enabling them to push through the tough times in pursuit of their goals.
The third skill involves goals and commitment. Successful athletes set appropriate goals using effective goal setting techniques. Successful athletes have a daily commitment to goal achievement.
Finally, successful athletes have cultivated people skills. Even in a highly individual sport like swimming, people skills are vital. According to the model, successful athletes are aware of others (coach, family, friends, and teammates), can communicate their feelings and needs, know how to listen, and have learned to effectively handle conflict and challenges.
Are you on the road to becoming a successful athlete? By working on these four skills, you will be off to a good start!
CJ Hall swims with the Montgomery Ancient Mariners, and writes and consults on sport performance. She can be reached at micandcj@erols.com
Source: The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes, Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, ©1998.
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