This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week is an excerpt from the Sept.-Oct. 2006 issue of Splash, in which special correspondent Emily Vance writes about dealing with setbacks. Here are some guidelines:ffice
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Setbacks and disappointing meets are an unavoidable part of any swimmer’s career, but learning how to deal with setbacks is no easy task.
Experts like Dr. Chris Carr, a sport and performance psychologist at the Indiana Neuroscience Institute, say attitude and resilience play integral roles in an athlete’s ability to recover from a disappointing performance or career setback. Some athletes have more ability to stay focused and stay positive than others, he says, but there are certain things that can help any athlete overcome a setback.
* The most important thing you can do to stay positive is focus on process-based goals, what you can learn from your setback and how to improve that aspect of your training. He says the trick is to not always focus on outcome-based goals, like where you want to place in a meet.
* Setting short-term, reachable goals is key to recovering after a disappointing meet or a setback. Setbacks can often work to a swimmer’s advantage because they can motivate the swimmer to train harder to prevent a setback from happening again.
* Reflecting on your performance is key, so long as you don’t evaluate your performance while you’re still upset about the meet. Use your coaches or watch videos of the particular race you feel disappointed about and decide what you can improve on. Don’t focus on what you think should have happened in the race.