Most novice Ironmen and Triathletes have to overcome there fear of the swim (open water swimming), in order to complete there goal race. Some of these tips in the attached article may be of assistance.
http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_swim/tno_swimarticle_04.asp
World Ironman 70.3 Las Vegas http://ridewithgps.com/routes/347763
SA Ironman 70.3 Buffalo City http://ridewithgps.com/routes/846560
It’s important for parents of sporty kids to understand the psychological effects of injuries on their children, as well as the impact of one sided encouragement.
Children who do well in sport often develop self-confidence and gain self-esteem from participating in their chosen sport/s. The concern is simply this, are they totally reliant on their involvement in sports for this self-confidence and self-esteem?
What happens if they get injured? Will they be able to return to their previous level? What happens if they cannot compete again? This could impact psychologically as their confidence and self-esteem nose dives and they begin to ask questions about themselves.
I consider myself an experienced sportsman and fairly well balanced (some may disagree), with a lovely family, a wonderful career and a passion for looking beyond myself and trying to help others better themselves. But, when injury comes knocking it can at times be disrupting and affect my moods, my interactions with people, my eating plan, my work and indirectly my family.
For any experienced sportsman, injuries and illnesses set us back, but for young children it can be devastating.
So it is important that Parents to try and pre-empt or reduce the psychological impact, by trying to create an environment where their children consider themselves ‘children’ first and foremost and ‘sporting talents’ second. If they think of themselves as only being as good as their achievements or value in sports, this could compound the problems that an injury or illness creates.
As Parents we can, from an early age, help them to see the importance of a balanced lifestyle. As a friend of mine said, he enjoys riding his bicycle and it keeps him fit and healthy, but it doesn’t earn him any money and doesn’t necessarily make his family happy. So it is important to look at things in perspective.
So children need to be taught that they have other strengths and they should be encouraged to develop other interests outside of sports. This will help them to develop confidence in other areas of their lives and not to be totally dependent upon success on the sportsfield to fuel their self-esteem.
What is also absolutely vital is that the Parent does not send the child the wrong signals. Here I am referring to the type of encouragement and ‘rewards’ that they receive for excelling in sports. So be careful of only encouraging them or praising them when they do well, as this could send the wrong signal. It is important that you look for the good in the bad performances too, as this is when they really need your encouragement, your love and understanding.
Imagine a child only receives positive affirmations when they perform well and they are ignored or moaned at when they underperform? This leads the child to believe that they are only as good as their sporting performances or successes, which in itself is problematic. But it also creates immense unnecessary pressure for the child leading up to the match, or the race, as the child realizes that if he/she underperforms there are ramifications that are not pleasant.
What amazes me is how people measure themselves and their children too? If we measure ourselves in terms of worldly standards, then we will see Millions of people aspiring to become number one, yet very few can achieve it.
Over the years I’ve learnt to measure myself and my children in the following manner. Aspire for personal excellence and simply doing the best you can with what you have on that particular day. The irony is that very few aspire to this methodology, yet Millions could achieve it.
If you can look at yourself in the mirror after your match or race and honestly say that you gave of your best, then you excelled, irrespective of time or position. By measuring myself in this manner, I’m able to control my nerves better pre race and being calm before a race is absolutely vital.
I once went to a talk by Professor Wayne Derman of the UCT Sports Science Instsitute and he spoke about being ‘in the zone’…. I was fascinated by his talk and reflected on races I had either raced, or on races in which athletes I had coached had raced. There is no doubting when you are ‘in the zone’ you have your best races, the challenge is getting ‘into the zone’.
One thing is for sure, anxiety won’t help you get into the zone, so it’s important to be relaxed and quietly confident in the build up to the event one is targeting. Another important focal point is being ‘in the moment’, something kids are pretty good at, but as Adults we lose our way somewhat.
At the 2010 World Champs in Clearwater Florida I found myself ‘in the zone’, probably because I was relaxed (I had nothing to lose after the Collar Bone Operation) so there was a reduced level of anxiety; I certainly was ‘in the moment’ and totally focussed AND I wasn’t trying too hard, which can also negatively impact performance.
If we put too much pressure on our children, measure them in terms of worldly standards, then they will feel the pressure, they will be tense and it is highly unlikely that they will be able to perform to their best ability. I continuously remind myself that sport is about having fun, expressing yourself and trying to do your best, both in training and in racing and somedays your best may only be good enough for last position and that is absolutely fine too.
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 