What I've learnt about Controlling Nervousness during Competitions
No matter how many climbing competitions I go in (whether it
be a World Cup, Nationals, States or even just a local social comp) I have to admit
that I get nervous at every single one. It’s not a bad thing… in fact, I
believe nerves are an incredibly important part of our competition preparation
and mindset. As we all know however, if misunderstood and left untrained, nervousness
can be detrimental to our performance.
I’ve read a few books, studied a little about it at
university and even chatted to a sports psychologist about the best way to deal
with nerves and performance anxiety. It’s all well and good to recognize what
causes it and why it’s good or bad, but the only way to properly learn how to
deal with your own personal stress and nervousness is from experience. Learning
to understand how your body reacts to stress/pressure, when do you perform at your
best, and what was difference in your mental state that made you perform so
well?
 |
| Open A Females just before finals at Tasmania Lead State Titles 2015. Cameron Johns Photography |
Why am I Nervous?
I believe it all comes down to pressure. We all have our own
reasons for being nervous, thus putting pressure on ourselves to do well. For
me, it is a very personal battle. I have a habit of putting enormous amounts of
pressure and expectations on myself despite the level of competition. It means
I always try my hardest, but it also means that if I don’t remember to control my
nerves, I can easily fall victim to performance anxiety.
The Fine Line
As I said before, I think it is important to be a little
nervous and put this pressure on ourselves. It keeps us in check, it pushes and
motivates us to try harder, but if not handled correctly it can easily shake us
off the wall. It is a very fine line between being under-excited and over-excited
for the competition. It’s that tricky middle ground we’re looking for if we
want to achieve optimal performance. How we achieve this optimal state is
different for everyone, and something personal I learn more about with each
competition I go in.
But When Am I Ready?
Part of why it’s so difficult to find this optimal middle
ground is because there’s obviously no personal gauge telling you when you’ve
reached it. How do I know when I’m in the
best mental state to climb the wall? Do
I need to relax more… or am I not excited enough? I ask myself these
questions at every competition. The best way to know is to think back to your
mindset throughout past experiences. When have you performed really well in a
high-pressure environment and things just seemed to come naturally?
Despite the amount of pressure and expectations I put on
myself… from what I’ve learnt so far, I perform best when I try to let this
pressure go for a moment. By the time I’m at the comp and ready to climb, the
pressure and amount of psych I need to push myself for the climb will always be
there, whether I think about it or not. My best and most natural performances have
come from when I focus on relaxing a little, having fun, thinking back to all
the training I’ve done and just letting all that hard training and preparation
show something for itself.
The Zone
The circumstances are different at every competition and rarely
do they run just as we’ve planned or visioned. Sometimes you’ll be waiting all
day to finally climb and by that stage you’re motivation is incredibly low. Sometimes
it’ll be colder than you’re used to and it’s difficult to warm up. Maybe your competitors
won’t stop mentioning that sausage you ate for lunch and how much it’ll weigh
you down. Maybe you’re flight was delayed and your hotel was terrible and you
had an awful night’s sleep, or you came down with a cold that morning and you feel
on the edge of death!
 |
| Preparing for my final's route at Tasmania Lead State Titles 2015. Cameron Johns Photography |
No comments:
Post a Comment