15-10-2012

Sport Psychology Database Canoe/Kayak

menal coaching sport sports psychology training mental preparation canoe kayak slalom freestyle sprint marathon polo whitewater icf sportscene mental notes performance1

On this page you will find a growing selection of articles on our website that discuss the topic of sport psychology from different angles in canoeing. If there is something you would like to add to this overview please contact Sportscene.

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29. Spankin it: yoga for kayakers with Adriene Levknecht | Part III - Part 3 of my yoga blog is going to consist more of the core workout and the arm balance aspect of my power yoga practice. For part 1 click here and part 2 here. This is the part of yoga that really strengthens my core and stabilises my shoulders for strong paddling while on the water.

28. Is music a ‘legal drug’ that improves performance? - In a Times Online article, Dr Costas Karageorghis calls music sport’s “legal drug”, capable of reducing an athlete’s perception of effort by 10 per cent while increasing performance by 20 per cent.

27. The 3 types of mental training for paddlesports | Jonathan Males - Not all your training has to be on the water or in the gym. In fact you can add a powerful dimension to your performance by including short mental training sessions that will develop your psychological strengths of mastery motivation, decision-making and execution.

26. Not making the team - Mark Proctor moves on - I can normally write at any given moment, but it’s taken me nearly 6 weeks to actually sit down and want to write this article.

25. Sex wins - sex before sport has its benefits - Latest research into the effect sex has on sports performance suggests that as long as the interaction occurs 10 to 12 hours before the athlete takes to the field, it makes little to no difference to the athlete’s output.

24. Adopting a High Performance Attitude | Michele Eray - Everyone knows about Mohammed Ali, one of the most vocal and successful boxers of all time. He came across as pretty arrogant and over-confident, but the one thing we can't deny is that he was the greatest when it came to self belief. He talked the talk, and walked the walk, but most importantly, he also did the work, which allowed him to totally believe in his ability to beat his competitors.

23. Stay motivated - Preventing burnout and staying fresh | Jonathan Males - Motivation is a key component in all the paddling disciplines, and the most successful paddlers demonstrate Mastery Motivation – the attitude, determination and commitment to achieve mastery over yourself, your competitors and your environment by performing to the best of your own ability.

22. In the flow - Performance psychology for winning in canoeing and kayaking.

21. Training for the Olympics, is it worth it? | Dream Big - I had a close friend ask me the other day – “Is it worth it?” I knew immediately what she was referring to even though she didn’t define it. She was asking, was it worth training for the Olympics even though you didn’t make it.

20. “Under pressure I can see things very clear” | Performance1 - Feeling nervous before a race or running a big drop is natural. It’s your body’s response to a dangerous situation. The danger comes from a risk to self-esteem (“what if I mess up in front of everyone”) or from the physical risk (“what if I land flat and break my back?”). But why is it that nerves sometimes interfere with a good performance, and at other times they help us “see things very clear” like Roger Federer?

19. Depression and comeback in sport | Performance1 - Normally the hurt fades into the background after days or weeks, and fuels the determination to do better in the future. But what if it doesn’t? What if the feelings get darker, like it did for Olympic sailor Oliver Bone? He hit rock bottom and became seriously depressed after a poor performance in Beijing.

18. What keeps you going as an athlete? About Mastery Motivation | Performance1 - With such a small proportion winning medals in any given season, it begs the question of what sustains the majority of racers who don’t achieve the visible rewards of success. How do they stay motivated? Are there differences in the motivation of more and less successful competitors?

17. 'Stop for a moment' | Urša Kragelj - The improvement in paddling was good this year but the problem is I don’t need improvement, I need a leap. Meaning a leap of thought, rather than a leap of technique, endurance etc.

16. How to deal with doubt and making major decisions | Performance1 - Do I respond to the unexpected challenger in the next lane or stick to my race plan in a 1000 m race? Which line do I take on this upstream gate? What races should I do this season? Should I work with a new coach? Do I retire or keep going for another season?

15. The art of performance: act powerfully, relate well, think straight | Performance1 - You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

14. Is Perfectionism Good, Bad, or Both? | Mental Notes - Perfectionism has been placed under the researcher’s microscope in recent years to determine whether this complex personality trait has a positive or negative influence on performance and well-being.

13. Human Error, Gorilla | Louise Jull - On Tuesday the 9th of September I was pretty pumped for my 6th lap of the green (2nd lap at 100%). There were a lot of people on the river this day, we had a super solid crew. I did a few walk backs on some of the top sections as I was feeling good.

12. Re-Building your confidence | Performance1 - Everyone knows that whitewater kayaking depends on your ability to stay confident. But a single bad experience can shatter this state of mind. The pain of an injury is a constant reminder that you made a mistake on the river, and injury can create a psychological challenge all its own.

11. What to do when the sports career is over? | Guy Dresser - Tim Brabants knows better than most how important it is to have a career you can turn to when the Olympic sports career finishes. The sprint kayaker is a qualified doctor and will return to medicine whenever he eventually hangs up his paddles.

10. Self-worth and sport: Is it time to add some pillars? | Mental Notes - To maintain a relatively positive experience with sport, it is important for individuals to have a healthy perspective of sport in that it can build those aforementioned attributes and characteristics. In particular, it is helpful for sport to be viewed as important yet not an all-encompassing pursuit.

9. How to learn from the greatest show on earth: the Olympic Games | Mental Notes - After two action-packed weeks, we are getting some sleep again and are able to get things back on track after spending these two, bleary-eyed weeks watching the best-of-the-best compete at the highest level. What comes now is an opportunity for us to learn from ‘the greatest show on earth’.

8. Dealing with failure | Performance1 - If there is one certainty in sport, it’s that everyone, no matter how good they are, will at some time fail and face disappointment. The important question is then, how do you respond to failure?

7. Visualisation, a crucial skill to aid success | Sportscene - Elite athletes embrace this skill as a crucial aspect of their preparation for important events. Having done all the groundwork – be it physical preparation or training - is simply not enough unless you have also developed the skill to mentally prepare for the challenge ahead.

6. How to prepare for your first international race | Performance1 - Question athlete: This is my first year of competing internationally – what do I need to do differently to prepare for race day?

5. Does Perfection Equate to Success? | Mental Notes - Quite often the media and the public image of elite sportspeople projects that they are perfect and that there is nothing 'wrong' or 'bad' or 'tarnished' in their lives. So when we realise that things are not perfect there seems to be a lot of surprise and shock.

4. Getting ready to race – the importance of a mental warm up | Performance1 - Every competitor knows that it’s necessary to warm-up before a race. But how many pay as much attention to their mental warm-up as they do to stretching their body, loosening their muscles and increasing their heart rate? The best racers have a consistent routine that prepares body AND mind for the challenge ahead.

3. How to prepare for your first Olympics | Performance1 - The 2012 Games are approaching fast, and the next few months will be critical for athletes. I want to talk about some of the challenges that first time Olympians will face in London – and offer some reminders for those who have competed at the Games before.

2. How to reproduce a good performance during an important race | Performance1 - During training sessions I perform well and feel confident. How do I reproduce this during an important race?

1. True Winter Tales: Christine Selinger - Everyone has that one day they remember; that one winter day that really stands out amongst the rest.

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