4 Keys to Keeping your Youth Athlete Healthy

Motivation

1. Goal setting is an essential first step in any training program.  Set goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely).  Create your goal, commit to it, and put it away.  Perhaps write it down and put it somewhere.  Or tell a friend or family member.  Commit to the goal and move forward. 
2. Discover what motivates you.  Is it fear?  Winning?  The person behind you, or in front of you?  What motivates you to keep going?
3. During a race, stay focused on your goal, not on others.  Don’t worry about that cyclist passing you, or the swimmer who got out of the water 10 minutes faster than you.  Focus on yourself and the goal you have set for yourself. 

Confidence

1. During your training, do a few confidence building workouts.  These workouts should be a little scary – they should intimidate you a bit.  Once you have completed the workout, you’ll be more confident and ready for the next test!  Perhaps try a faster pace than you think you are capable of.  Try a longer distance than you have been going (increasing only within safe increments).  Try an intensity that intimidates you. 
2. Practice scary situations in advance so you will be ready to handle them confidently and with ease when they occur.  For example, if your race involves a mass swim start, practice swimming in large groups.  Practice riding in strong winds and on hills.  Practice running and riding in the rain.  Practice changing your flat tire.  If your race is in the open water, practice swimming in the water in all conditions.  You won’t know what the conditions will be like until race morning, so prepare yourself for whatever might come.   When race day arrives and it is rainy and windy with high waves, you’ll be confident that you know how to respond.   While the rest of the unprepared racers will panic, you can stay calm and confident. 

Concentration

1. Create a mantra – or three.  You will have tough times on the course – this is inevitable.  Your mind will try to convince you to stop, or to slow down.  You will question why you are doing this.  This is when you need to have a mantra ready to go.  This is unique to every person.   Find what motivates you to concentrate on the task at hand and keep moving forward toward your goal.   “One foot in front of the other”, “just keep moving”, “I am stronger than my mind” are a few I have heard.  Find what works for you.  Repeat this to yourself when the going gets tough. 
2. Break the race into more manageable chunks.  Reach the next buoy, or the next water stop, or the next mile.  Rather than focusing on the full distance ahead of you, focus on smaller, more easily attained distances/goals.
3. Change your focus when things get difficult.  Shift your mind from the pain in your hips to the goal of crossing the finish line.   When your mind begins to tell you that you can not go on, focus on your form, focus on your pedal stroke, focus on how the sun feels on your back, focus on catching the person in front of you, focus on whatever pulls your attention from your current pain so you can continue moving forward. 

Relaxation

1. Visualize your outcome.  You have a goal, now visualize yourself achieving this goal.  What does it look like?  Visualize yourself crossing the finish line – people cheering, family and friends watching.  If, for example, you are intimidated by the swim, visualize yourself swimming the entire route, from start to finish, strong stroke after stroke.  Visualize yourself getting out of the water confident and strong after completing the swim portion. 
2. Don’t fret over things you have no control over.  You have no control over the weather, other competitors, etc.  Instead focus on what you can control.  Focus on your pace, your water intake, your nutrition.  You have practiced the “scary situations” in advance, so roll with it and don’t expend any extra energy worrying about things you can’t control.
3. Organize your gear well in advance of race morning.  Don’t wait until you are leaving the house or hotel to head to the race to get your gear together.  Lay out everything you will need the week before and ensure you have not forgotten anything you will need to get before race day. 

Arrive to the start line confident that you are not only physically strong, but you are mentally strong as well.   You have put in the miles, as well as the mental training to allow you to cross the finish line confident and fresh.  Gain control over your motivation, your confidence, your concentration and your relaxation to reach your goals and reach your greatest potential.  And in the end, remember to see each race as a learning process.  Each race brings you more in tune with yourself, helping bring you closer to your goals and to the next race more confident and more mentally tough.