How Not to Choke

When my son was a senior in high school, he played baseball. I did not want to miss a game.

One of the games I watched was Mt. Abraham playing against Harwood. When Harwood's pitcher was warming up, the fans on the sidelines thought he looked good and wondered whether our batters might have a tough time against him. He had a good fast ball and seemed to have good control.

Things changed once the game started. Harwood was up first. Mt. Abraham got the first three batters out. Then Harwood's pitcher took the mound. With his first pitch, he struck Mt. Abe's batter in the back; he walked the second batter; and then struck the third batter in the head. Bases loaded. Had the fourth batter not moved out of the way on several pitches, he would have been hit as well. At that point Harwood's #22 was moved to center field. Another pitcher took his place.

Where did the control go? What changed for that pitcher when the game started? Did he not have the ability---the control---to throw strikes over the plate, when during the warm-up it appeared as if he did? Or did he simply lose his ability once the game started?

It appeared that he was a victim of choking. I would love to talk to that player to find out what was happening when he was warming up. What was he thinking? What was his mood? How relaxed was he? What was he feeling? Once a batter stood next to the plate, what changed? Thoughts? Mood? Relaxation? Emotions? Often a coach will tell his athlete, "Relax! You're trying too hard!" Good advice, but not easy to do.

When I was nineteen, I competed in the FIS World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy. Slalom was my best event. After the first run, I was in sixth place. Not bad, but I wanted to do better. I wanted to podium. I wanted to win---at the very least win a medal. As I memorized the course for the second run, that's what I thought about---moving up and winning a medal. How to do that? The more I thought about winning a medal, the more nervous I got. At that point, ski racing wasn't as much fun as it had been.

When I got to the top, I looked for my Dad in the crowd of spectators. He saw me and came to me. I shared my thoughts and nervousness with him. He was so calming! He had a little grin on his face and a glint in his eye, when he said, "I always thought you were the cool cucumber in the family!"

I just broke into a smile and said to myself, "Yeah, I am!" I stopped thinking about how I was going to do. I was confident that I could ski with the best of them. I did my best and ended up with the silver medal.

Two years later, I competed in the Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. This time I won the first run---not by much---three hundredths of a second. As I was memorizing the course for the second run, I could feel myself start to choke. I kept thinking, "I could win today! I could win an Olympic gold medal!!!" But the more I let myself think those thoughts, the more nervous I got. Finally, I told myself, "B.A. (that was my nickname), get a grip on yourself! You've got to calm down!"

I continued on my way. I fought to stay calm. I reminded myself, "I can only do my best." I built up my confidence, "If the French girls can win, I can, too!" I prepared myself for defeat," Even if I don't win, I've won the first run and not very many people have done that. So no matter what happens now, I can always be proud of what I've already achieved!" I thought of my father and the World Championships in Val Gardena. Finally I was calm.

Second run, I ran fifteenth---after everyone who had a chance to overtake me. But I was able to stick to my game plan. I didn't watch anyone ahead of me. I closed my eyes and visualized the course. I stretched and did my warm-ups. And then I slid into the tent.

Danielle Debernard had finished second on the first run. Before my second run, she was leading by about a second. That's huge in ski racing. I didn't know she had skied that well. I'm glad I didn't because I could have easily choked thinking she was so much better than the rest of us on that run. I could have easily choked just thinking that all I needed to do was beat Danielle. Thinking about who you need to beat does not work. It just adds more pressure and increases the chance of choking.

When I slid into the start, I was just going to do the best I could. When I finished, Danielle had won that run by a hundredth ahead of me. But overall, I won by two hundredths.

The trick to not choking? Control your thoughts. Believe in your ability. Enjoy yourself. When you concentrate on the skills, the results will take care of themselves.

About the Author

As a gold medal Olympic skier, Barbara Ann Cochran knows what it takes to achieve peak performance. No matter how much a person has achieved, she helps them climb to their next level by creating success through positive mental preparation.

Visit http://www.sportssuccesscoaching.com/ for more information about her programs.

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Bearing More Than Most

Sometimes what stands out for me in my life is that I have withstood more bearing than most in life. But who am I to make that assessment, and why should I need another to compare my life to, to make such an assessment? Well I guess I don't and neither do you. After all what does it really do on a healing level to compare your burdens to another? Isn't there enough pain in your own hurt to create validation? I have always loved what Susan Jeffers said, "Since when did we ever get into a competition of, 'Who could be the most pathetic?'" I have most definitely learned that lesson and have caught myself many times to keep from returning to that choice of "all that exists to a worm in horseradish is, well horseradish" (an old Yiddish saying-and a great one at that 'eh?).

Although the fact does remain, even in living a healing path, there is no denying that there is pain, there are setbacks, and you do take the hand of fear when you want to move forward. A quote I came across this weekend, was by D'Amato, "Heroes and cowards feel the exact same fear, they just respond differently" The most profound history makers, have all felt fear, that's just it, they FELT fear and they moved through it. That is the point, to not get stuck, but to move in spite of the fear and the challenges.

Pain, loneliness, sadness...How to deal with it, when no one is there to hold you? Can it even be done? Is that even possible? Yes it can and it does. Now how to deal with it is usually the question left lingering. Much of the wisdom I have ever come across has done a really amazing job of telling the what, but I do have to say that so many painful nights I was left not knowing the how, especially all alone. The how, in my opinion goes in the way of coping, well coping done alone can be quite a tumultuous climb, yet most of our pain bearing occurs in isolation. Why is that, I still wonder? Either way, I promised you the how. How will come in many forms and it will be different at any given time. I suppose that is why this topic is left in it's own abandonment many times.

You may have heard these suggestions in different ways, but perhaps not as a menu of choices. When you are feeling beaten down, isolated, and incapable of taking one more breath, first and most importantly, remember YOU ARE NOT ALONE, NO MATTER HOW ALONE YOU FEEL!

I promise you this Truth. The menu of choices available for healing pain are:

Write, journal, call a friend, if no one is available and you need a hug, hug yourself! Music is extremely healing, drive, just go...get away even if only for a few minutes, breathing, deep breathing, even hire a breath work teacher(Google it) Hit a pillow even with a baseball bat to release anger, sleep with guided imagery (Google Belleruth Napartsek) drive and yell with the windows rolled up, cry, hurt, get mad, the point really is to FEEL! When we feel E-motion which is really energy-in-motion we can be a channel to the pain that must pass through less it manifest as something stagnant (a whole other article) Better to let things move through than to camp out and become pain's container. It may not feel that way in the moment of the excruciating emotion, but I assure you the saying, "This too shall pass", was True, maybe not empathetic, but nonetheless True.

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How to Achieve the Unachievable

"I believe in miracles...

Where you from...

You sexy thing..."

Ok - so yes, I am starting this article with a song, but I want to look at achieving the unachievable. I constantly love reminding myself that there is no reality, except for the one I create, so nothing is unachievable unless I decide to believe it to be so.

So this month, I wanted to explore that concept, and see if you can take some of these principles into your riding.

Has anyone seen the movie called 'Miracle' starring Kurt Russel? It came out in 2004 and it tells the story of the miracle of the US Olympic Hockey Team beating the Soviet Union and going on to win Gold at the 1980 Olympics.

For the US to beat the Soviets was truly a miracle at that time. It was unachievable - the Soviets had won four consecutive gold medals from 1964-1976, and were going for their fifth consecutive gold medal in 1980. In 1979 The National Hockey League All Stars played the soviets and lost 0-6.

The US team on the other hand, were untested college students. At an exhibition match shortly before the 1980 Olympics the Soviets played the US team and beat them 10-3.

No one believed the US team could beat the Soviets. Nobody, except a man by the name of Herb Brooks. Herb believed they could beat the Soviets and Herb believed they could win the gold medal. And.... they did.

So how do you achieve the unachievable:

1. Be creative

Herb realised that everyone was trying to beat the Soviets by playing a certain style of game... and it wasn't working! So to beat them, he would have to create an entire new style of playing. He innovated, developed and installed a completely new strategy that was based on extreme conditioning, discipline and speed - his players struggled to learn and master this, but they did, and thanks to Herb's creativeness and thinking outside the box, they won. So be creative in your riding - just because you have always done it 'this' way doesn't mean it should always be done that way. New thinking equals new results. What new ways can you be creative in your riding?

2. It's not all about talent.

Herb did not pick the most talented players for his team, and there were many more talented players on the Soviet team. But Herb knew that talent is only part of the puzzle. He was looking for players who would be part of a team, who would embrace his new methods, and stand up to the demands. This is good news! Riding is not about talent. It's about thinking. It's about working with your horse. It's about so many things, the least of these being talent. So don't worry if you don't have the 'ideal' body type, or find it challenging to master sitting trot - with the right thinking and training, that will all be overcome.

3. Know that adversity inspires!

Herb just missed out on playing in the gold medal hockey team of 1960. But he used that to drive his determination to win a gold as a coach in 1980. Fate had disappointed him once, but he was not going to let himself be disappointed again. He was going to do whatever it took to get the gold. In riding you will miss out, you will have disappointments, and you will have setbacks. WE ALL DO! Believe me! But the only thing that matters is how you use the disappointment - I use it in the same way as Herb - to motivate me to be even better than I can possibly be. How do you manage disappointment? A better question is - how will you handle disappointment now, after reading this?

4. You have to have a MASSIVE goal!

A goal that inspires and even scares you a little bit! When I look at my goals I giggle - I giggle, because they are the most outrageous, insane, HUGE, crazy, brave, sensational goals I have seen..... Great! You can't get excited about a small, insignificant goal. You set a goal to brush your teeth and you do, weeh yay, whatever. But a big goal, a scary goal, a goal that is monumental... well that just gets you going! You jump out of bed in the morning, and stay up late, you do crazy things, and have crazy thoughts, and at the end of the day... you have your goal.

So is your riding goal - outrageous? Bill Gates says don't even bring me an idea unless 3 people have laughed at it. Then I know it will be worth looking at. My measure is as long as people still think I am crazy... then

I am right on track!

And finally

5. You need buddies!

Success is not the results of you alone. To achieve the unachievable you need a team of people coming together for your one goal. Who is part of your team in your riding? Your vet, farrier, coach, horse - they all have to work with you towards the one goal.

To Your Riding Success,

Natasha Althoff-Kelley
http://yourridingsuccess.com/
Visit my website for your free ebook on "How to Achieve Lasting Riding Success"

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