Managing Excessive Nervousness

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This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week was submitted by Dr. Alan Smith, Assistant Professor of Sport Psychology, Purdue University. Smith offers some advice on keeping excessive nervousness in check.

Smith's Tip:
Big meets can cause nervousness for many reasons, like swimming in front of a crowd, racing faster competitors, or having months of hard work come to one final weekend. Just as there are many sources of nervousness, there are many potential solutions. Good physical preparation is critical. Confidence and focus come from knowing one can handle the physical challenges. Beyond this, sound mental preparation can help keep excessive nervousness in check (Many athletes think it is good to be a little nervous for a race).

With Purdue Swimming, we create competition plans to help increase confidence and focus. Plans cover the general mental and physical warm up, what the swimmer will think and do minutes before the race, and what the swimmer will focus on during the race. We emphasize positive thinking, time goals, and technique goals. A swimmer can control these factors much easier than outside factors, like how other competitors swim.

The athletes write their plans down and adjust them over the season as they learn what works and what doesn’t. As a plan is perfected, it is used in “big” meets to help keep confidence and focus. A confident and focused swimmer is usually more relaxed. We even plan for the unexpected, like a travel delay, poor performance in early heats, or a weak start. While this takes some work, in the end the swimmers experience fewer surprises and feel more relaxed (or optimally nervous) for races.

For those who need more help relaxing, imagery, deep breathing, and other relaxation techniques can be used. The best technique to use depends on the person and situation. A sport psychologist can help determine the best approach for you. Go to the Sports Medicine and Science Network Database on the USA Swimming web site to find a sport psychology specialist in your area. Also, see the Mental Toolbox link for more information on mental preparation, including a competition planning worksheet.