Athlete vulnerability is not a topic that we hear much about as athletes, coaches and sport performance consultants. Athletes are typically encouraged to be “mentally tough”, to “push through the pain”, and gratefully make personal sacrifices for the “good of the team”. But at what cost? Where is the line? Where are the guard rails protecting the athletes in a competitive culture that prioritizes winning over mental health and gives coaches the authority to torture athletes in pursuit of victory?
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Deconstructing Perfectionism in Athletes (and Coaches)
Ever feel like you are never fully satisfied with your performance? Like the minute you achieve a performance goal, your mind has already moved on to the next career milestone? That restless, never-enough feeling has a name: perfectionism in athletes.
If so, you’re not alone. Perfectionism has a way of disguising itself as high standards. Perfectionism is characterized by unrealistically high expectations of self and a tendency to be over critical of one’s performance. To put it more simply, perfectionism is the tendency to hold and pursue dangerous and unrealistically high goals. Within the last decade, the number of research studies conducted on perfectionism in athletes has increased significantly to address this widespread threat to athletes. Perfectionism among young people has become so common that researchers are starting to refer to it as the “Perfectionism Pandemic”.
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How to Control Your Energy Level in Competition
Got players that are feeling anxious and stressed? There’s certainly no shortage of things to be stressed out about in today’s world, but sports should be a stress outlet rather than a stress trigger – especially for young players. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. Now more than ever before, we are seeing a rise in rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and self-harm among teenagers. The New York Times has coined the term “the inner pandemic” to describe today’s mental health crisis among youth and adolescents.
Athletes and coaches alike experience a fight-or-flight response when their sympathetic nervous system is activated. Physical symptoms of stress can include increased heart rate, stomach nausea, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and unwanted arousal. There are evidence-based muscle-to-mind techniques that you can use to help athletes reduce their levels of performance anxiety and stress.
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Interview with Beth Launiere on Preparing for NCAA Playoffs and Avoiding Player Burnout
2019 was a landmark year for Beth Launiere. Not only did it mark her 30th season as the Head Volleyball Coach at the University of Utah, but Launiere was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year and led her team to the program’s fourth Sweet 16 performance. The team’s match up against BYU in the second round of the NCAA playoffs has gone down in Ute volleyball history.
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On Waiting for Permission
If you are waiting for somebody to give you permission, then it may never happen. If the change that you want to experience in your life is contingent on somebody else, than there may be no end to your waiting. Nobody is going to give you permission.
And by the way, you don’t need their permission anyway. Your life is your own and you can just do it.
There will also never be a perfect time.
Waiting for permission to speak will silence your voice when authority overlooks you.
Holding out for permission to rest will exhaust your motivation and steal away your passion.
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