Imagine if every time you missed a basket, somebody would shoot you in the head.
Extreme skier Ulmer
Extreme sports have unique demands
Decentralized Structure
Almost no extreme athletes talk about the less-than-glamorous work it takes to perform at a high level. Often called the “unseen hours,” the training that happens behind the scenes (and off of social media) is responsible for the successes of elite athletes. Sharpening your mental sword is just as important as refining physical skills, especially in the extreme sports realm where mistakes can carry serious consequences.
Adding structured mental performance training to your “unseen hours” will help you perform at your best when it really counts.
Flow
Flow states are one of the most fulfilling and rewarding aspects of extreme sports. An athlete in flow may experience a feeling of effortlessness, time slowing down, and a merging of action and awareness. Flow states occur when there is a loss of self-consciousness, a perfect match between challenge and skill, and a total present moment focus. This is also sometimes referred to as “being in the zone.”
But, flow states can be illusive—if you’re trying too hard to achieve flow, you are almost certainly not going to succeed! Mental training techniques can help increase your likelihood of experiencing flow by helping you hone your present moment focus and decrease your self-consciousness. Mental skills can also help you achieve great performances without entering flow state, enabling you to trust in your abilities regardless.
Fear
Most mainstream sports coaches say that fear in sports is unfounded and irrational. But, extreme sports athletes know that participation in extreme sports exposes the athlete to real risk. Fear is a very natural and normal response to risky situations. Unlike in mainstream sports, fears in extreme sports are a rational response to a threat to the physical safety of the athlete. However, fear in extreme sports can still create a barrier for performing at your best.
Mental skills tactics can help you learn to work with your fear instead of fighting it or avoiding it.
Unpredictability
Any type of outdoor adventure sport is condition-dependent. Unlike mainstream sports, where training is carefully tailored to a pre-determined competition schedule, performance timing in extreme or adventure sports is determined by the weather—wind, rain, or snow conditions must align. This creates a phenomenon I like to call “off the couch to Super Bowl,” where the extreme athlete may (literally) be coming off the couch into a rare set of conditions necessary for a highly skilled performance at the top of their skill set.
Mental training can help you develop visualization and pre-performance routines to help you lock in and execute, no matter the circumstances leading up to your performance.
Trauma
Extreme athletes may experience trauma during their sport experiences. Traumatic events may include: witnessing a death or severe accident, performing CPR (regardless of outcome), experiencing a near-miss, an unexpected loss of a friend or loved one to the sport, or getting injured. Trauma is in the eye of the beholder. If you are more affected or less affected by an event than others, that does not mean that something is wrong with you. It only means that your individual experience of an event is unique. It is important to treat yourself and others with compassion.
Common symptoms of trauma include: avoiding behaviors or situations associated with the event, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, irritability, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, depression, anxiety, rumination about the event, and feelings of guilt.
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 9-8-8 or 1-800-(273)-8255.
Mental skills training can help you redefine your relationship to your sport following a traumatic event. Mental training can also help you develop a plan to cope with symptoms of trauma during your return to sport. It is important to note that mental performance coaches are not counselors or therapists, and it may be necessary for me to make a referral to a counselor or therapist. If this is the case, we can continue to work together on issues related to your sport in tandem with your work with your counselor or therapist.
Extreme sports are “independent leisure activities where the most likely outcome of a mismanaged mistake or accident is death.”
Eric Brymer, 2005
Mindfullsend Mental Performance Coaching 