Building Confidence

September brings with it a season of change and a sense of beginning … back to school, back to work after the summer, a beginning of a new season of training. Change and new beginnings often bring a sense of nervous anticipation as we deal with all the feelings that are brought to the surface. How can we build our confidence to address these feelings? A recent article in the SIRC Collection looks at achieving your sporting success through strengthening your ‘confidence muscle’.

Three key points of the article are highlighted:

• Reflect on your past performances. Identify what factors contributed to success.
• Write a confidence resume. Write out past achievements, successes and anything where you are pleased with yourself.
• Do visualization exercises. Repeatedly imagine you are watching yourself in a movie being the best you can be for your next performance.

As in most cases, lessons learned in sport can be directly applicable to life. So the next time you are facing a new challenge, meet it head on by flexing your new ‘muscle’.

Order the full article from SIRC: (2010). Soar With Incredible Levels of Confidence. Ultra-FIT, 20(4), 40-41.

Bad workouts equal bad days, or do they?

We have all experienced those days where we just seemed a little off and we didn't reach the exercise goal we had set for ourselves.  Most stress and worry about these days, but it might be worthwhile to think of these 'bad' workouts as a learning experience.

If you have a workout that goes poorly, evaluate if that workout fits your personal workout style.  Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can take the pressure off your workouts and allow you to have more fun.  Accept that you have some areas that you will be weaker in and slowly work towards improving.

Sometimes we don't give enough attention to the outside influences that affect our individual workouts.  For instance, you are stressed at work, maybe worrying about a deadline and you sneak in a quick workout over your lunch that doesn't go well; from this perspective it's easy to see that your focus is elsewhere and that it negatively affected your workout.  We tend to separate life stress from training stress but they can both have an affect on your overall confidence level.

This idea also applies to environmental conditions.  If it's hot and humid outside, your workout is likely to be more of a struggle but how many of us blame ourselves and not the conditions?

It's worth noting that if you have a several bad workouts in a row, it might be advisable to dial it down a notch.  Recovery is an important part of training and is often overlooked.  Keeping a balance between training and a busy life is possible if you learn to listen to your body and give it the rest it needs.

Some food for thought:

• Start each day fresh, with a clear mind
• Improve on your weaknesses
• Try not to dwell on the 'bad' aspects of your workout
• Ensure you get enough rest
• Don't be afraid to cut out one or two workouts until you back to yourself

It can be hard to accept a bad workout when there are valid reasons for it, let alone when there seems to be no reason at all.  Since our bodies do have and ebb and flow that we don't fully understand, we need to realize that it's not all in our control, learn from it and move on.

References from the SIRC Collection:

1. Bowden J. The real-world workout: how to build strength - and confidence - on your own terms. Women's Sports & Fitness. September 1994;17(6):70-72.
2. Gilson T. Outcomes of Confidence in Sport Training Settings. Strength & Conditioning Journal (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). October 2010;32(5):91-96.
3. McMillan G. The Five Habits of Highly Effective Runners. Running Times. April 2010;(375):22.
4. Otis C, Goldingay R. Good pain, bad pain. Shape. February 1993;12(6):58.

Coaching Young Athletes

As a coach, there is always a chance that you will spot exceptional talent in a young athlete.  When this happens, it can be easy to forget that that talent is wrapped inside the body and mind of a child.  Kids think differently than adults, especially when they are younger.  Abstract thinking doesn't really start developing until adolescence, so it can be quite a challenge as a coach to effectively communicate with your young athletes.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Use plain language - Remember to coach the intelligence not the age; just because a child has an amazing talent doesn't mean they have a superior intellect. Analogies are okay as long as they stay within a topic that the athlete is familiar with. Learn to gauge where the child is mentally and work from there.

Be aware of a child's comfort level - When you are a coach, children will already recognize you as being in a position of authority.  We may not feel that the height and size of a person matters to youngsters but some kids have trouble getting over the intimidation they feel when someone is larger than them.  Fortunately, this is easy to overcome by lowering your height to be on a similar eye level. Once a child gain's a little more confidence, they will focus more on the coaching and not the big intimidating person telling them what to do.

Watch your body language - Body language is the most basic form of communication and our facial expressions can be the most telling.  Obviously a smile is a positive message, but eyes and eyebrows confirm the positive expression.  We all know people who talk with their hands, so we know that it is also a form of expression.  Hands on hips or having your arms crossed sends negative messages to others, whereas the more animated the coach, the more engaged they appear to their team.  Becoming aware of how we present these messages to kids can go a long way to improving a child's coaching experience. 

To be an effective coach for youngsters takes practice, so with some time and patience you should be able to have fun and be a great leader. 

References from the SIRC Collection:

1. Faigenbaum A, Meadors L. A Coaches Dozen: 12 FUNdamental Principles for Building Young and Healthy Athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). April 2010;32(2):99-101.
2. Gould D, Carson S. Young Athletes Perceptions of the Relationship between Coaching Behaviors and Developmental Experiences.
3. Nyitray M. Comfort is the Key to Coaching Young Athletes. Olympic Coach. Winter2012 2012;23(1):29-32.
4. Shepherd J. Starting Young: Coaching young athletes. Ultra-Fit Magazine. February 2011;21(2):104-107.
5. Smith R, Smoll F, Cumming S. Effects of a Motivational Climate Intervention for Coaches on Young Athletes' Sport Performance Anxiety. Journal Of Sport & Exercise Psychology. February 2007;29(1):39-59.
6. Watson II J, Connole I, Kadushin P. Developing Young Athletes: A Sport Psychology Based Approach to Coaching Youth Sports.