This isn't a magic trick - My journey from athlete, to coach, to consultant
“Challenge is 90% mental, and the other 10% is all in your head”
- Ultra runner Ray Zahab, 2004ish
Sitting in the back of a local cafe, in the audience of Ray’s (my neighbourhood’s hero) presentation on his latest adventure racing exhibitions, this quote stuck in my heart as both intriguing and puzzling.
At the time, I was in middle school, a competitive athlete in a variety of sports, and like most type A, high achievers, I was a constant bundle of nerves. How could sport possibly be 100% mental? I thought to myself. Stuff like sport psychology was for people who had problems right? I, like many of my teammates followed my physical training plan religiously but had never deliberately worked on any type of ‘mental skill’. Yet, the more Ray spoke about his adventures, the amount of work he put in to the psychological aspect of his sport began to make sense. Of course his sport is an extreme one: running across deserts and through jungles for days/weeks at a time is no ordinary athletic feat! The adversity faced and subsequently overcome in ultra running/adventure racing is not just impressive; it should be impossible. As I sat and listened, hours passed and I don’t think I moved a muscle. I was so drawn to this athlete’s story of perseverance, resiliency and hard work, that I did not want the presentation to end. That wasn’t all either. Most importantly, listening to Ray’s story really forced me to question the way I was approaching my own competitive sports. Sure, my events at fourteen years old were either 500m kayak races or 5km ski races, not the multi-day runs through uncharted wilderness; but if this man could overcome swimming across a river in the Amazon with who-knows-what underneath him, then I could certainly tackle managing my stress levels on race day!
"I always loved racing, but my nerves would often make me not be able to perform like myself"
So, in the weeks that followed, I sat down with my stepmom and we both agreed it would be a good idea for me to try out talking with a mental performance consultant. Up until that point in my life, as I said, I was a constant bundle of nerves, but either I didn’t have the awareness or the courage to confront it. Ever since I could remember, I loved racing but the night before every competition I would be up crying my eyes out, terrified to put my ski boots on the next morning. As I got older, this stress response transferred itself over to school, where I would completely freeze up during a test; paralyzed by fear of failure. I was so scared of not being perfect, that I was deliberately avoiding help and my performances were suffering (a vicious cycle for sure!)
I remember my very first session as if it were yesterday. I was super anxious, but also weirdly excited to finally talk to someone who wasn’t a friend or a family member and whose sole purpose in this situation was to help me; no judgement. And oh did I ever luck out! The consultant my stepmom helped me choose was exactly the person I needed in my life at that time. She was kind, she was resourceful and creative and most importantly she helped inspire me to work on the mental side of my sport. I did not know it then, but she would become one of the most important role models in my life, both personally and professionally. Our very first session, she taught me two things. To this day I teach my clients these same two lessons (with my own special twist on it of course).
1. ‘Stress’, although we often perceive it negatively, is simply a physical reaction to a stimulus that our bodies view as a threat. It is not an ‘evil demon’ or something we have no control over. Once we understand the ‘whats’, ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of this reaction, it no longer has a mysterious power over us.
2. Sport psychology and mental training are not magic tricks. They are learned skills that you have to work really hard at in order to master. Mental performance consultants are not wizards. If you don’t put in work, you won’t see results. The mental side of sport is just as important as the physical side: you have to train both.
My journey in the world of sport psychology has never been a straightforward one. There were many years after this first session where I wasn’t seriously putting in the work. I would see my performances go up and down along with how I was able to manage my nerves. I then went off to university and was re-introduced to the field of mental training through a few of my classes. Again I found myself intrigued, absolutely fascinated by the power of the human mind.
Then, after many years as a competitive athlete, my life completely changed: I became a coach. Every day I got to work with the most incredible young athletes. Each of them giving their all in order to achieve personal excellence in their sport. I was able to share my knowledge, both personal and academic, in everything from technique to interval training to the best forms of recovery. However, the ‘piece of the pie’ I hands down used the most was the knowledge I had in the psychological department. It did not take me long before I realized that in order to be the best coach I could be; I needed to expand my competency. Although I swore the second I received my bachelor’s degree that I would never go back to school there I was about to start a master’s in sport psychology.
"Graduating with a master's degree is something I never thought would be a part of my journey"
Along the next two years of my journey, I learned more than I could have ever hoped for. Not only did I continue to work as a full time coach, but also through my school’s internship program, I began working with athletes from all different sports and performance backgrounds. I now get to work with such a wonderful variety of inspiring performers. From an eight-year-old hockey player looking to gain more confidence at school, to a sixty-year-old woman preparing to run their first ever-10k race, to a slalom canoe athlete working towards qualifying for the Olympics! Every day is different and my own learning never stops. I love what I do and I am so glad my journey has taken me to where I am today.
"Helping young athletes work towards their goals is what truly fills my heart"
So, do I believe that sport is 100% mental? Not necessarily. As a coach, I also have experienced and recognized how important every aspect of an athlete’s training is to his or her success. However, I do believe that without a doubt, if an athlete does not work on the mental side of his or her sport, overall positive performance and improvement become exponentially more difficult. Mental training is not magic. It is hard work. It is sweat, it is repeated failure, and it is learning. Most importantly it can be a game changer. Is sport 100% mental? I’ll leave that up to you to decide on your journey to personal excellence, but if you ask me; it’s pretty darn close.
Happy trails,
KATIE