Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Psychology”
A young swimmer is over the moon with joy. He has managed to set his first three qualifying times in just a single weekend. He will compete in his category at the next nationals and do so in style. His coach showers him with praise. Buzzing, he walks over to the spectator seating where he is enthusiastically congratulated by colleagues …
“SWIM YOUR WAY AND WIN HOWEVER YOU CAN” Some swimmers adopt this approach on their own when you stop paying attention: they prefer to go easy during the race, wait patiently for the right moment and shoot forward on the home straight. These athletes are very sure of themselves, cautious thinkers, audacious and driven. They don’t push too early, compete …
Music is utilized in many sports for motivation. In swimming, underwater music players have increased in commonality and popularity. Studies have found positive correlations between music and improvements on sub-maximal aerobic performance. However, conflicting results exist in music and supra-maximal exercise. Even if beneficial, listening to music is not allowed in competition. However, using music during recovery is allowed and …
In younger age groups, we often encounter angry swimmers who are disappointed with their performance. They are increasingly more demanding with themselves and their environment, enraged and unsatisfied after a good race if their result was not rewarded with a medal, subject to disproportionate pressure and incapable of understanding how the sport can be so unkind or even cruel to them. …
It pains me to think that, in our sport, we are sometimes impudent or critical and ignore or fail to harness the talent that surrounds us. That it is so hard for us to appreciate how the commitment and dedication of some swimmers who choose to enjoy their youth in pool lanes deserve to be recognized as they seek the …
The difference between setting a great time in competition and achieving your objective can often be found in your own mind and how easily you can focus on the goal. Too much anxiety before a competition, overzealous expectations, fear of your rivals or simply a pair of goggles that break a few moments before the race can be more than …
Everyone knows at least one; a swimmer who never stops training, follows their coach’s instructions to the letter and provides a fine example of consistency and commitment, but has a bad swim meet. They try so hard while training that they even manage to set unbelievable times, often unimaginably good, and leave their colleagues in a state of amazement, but …
Take Home Points on How to Prevent Swimming Burnout Physiological capacities are limited after maturation. Technique is the largest contributor of success, especially after maturation. Burnout is higher in women, potentially due to earlier development and longer period of plateauing. Improvements in swimming naturally occur during maturation, in fact, one can expect 3 – 4% improvement during these years (Sweetenham 2013). …
A Swimmer’s Mindset Thirty-six years beside the pool and there are still things that haven’t changed. Perhaps it’s a matter of sports culture, of respect for a sport that is not valued as highly as it should be, of the efforts made by swimmers who unhesitatingly give the best of themselves in the water and who, in some cases, would like …
Attention All Swimmers “Most of our tension and frustration comes from our compulsive need to act as if we were someone we are not” Hans Selye (1956) There are swimmers who are afraid of looking in the mirror. They are afraid of uncertainty and of failure, or even the thought of failure. This feeling holds them like a deer in …