Sports Psychology

By Terri Milner Tarquini

Call it the danger zone: The fourteen days before competition.

Suddenly, in what is often this critical time, a skater can’t land a thing in their program, or they get stuck on one element that they’ve had consistent forever and now they “can’t do it.”

Sound familiar?

“Panic sets in because they are totally focused on the outcome and they let the ‘what ifs’ really flood them,” said Pomai Miyata, a certified mental coaching professional and PSA and U.S. Figure Skating member. “If coaches can get their students to switch gears sooner, before they reach the level of a full meltdown, everyone benefits.”

Nerves happen. They can’t be eradicated, but they can be mitigated.

Alleviating a skater’s panic can come in a single word: routine.

“The more you can reduce the need for decision-making by the skater, the better,” Miyata said. “This minimizes potential distractions and improves their ability to refocus quickly on the task at hand, resulting in fewer freak-outs.”

Panic often comes from feeling out of control—and figure skating is a sport where there is a fair amount of uncontrollables, which can often be a trigger to skaters staring down the barrel of competition.

Things like a pre-determined off-ice warm-up and on-ice warm-up can re-center them back on familiar ground.

“Routines help them be in control because it gives them something they know and are comfortable with,” Miyata said. “Competition is in the future, so having a routine they can go back to helps them focus on the now.”

Miyata, a multi-sport athlete herself whose son is a competitive figure skater, has worked professionally with athletes for over 30 years. She specializes in taking mental toughness theories and translating them into concrete tools the skaters can implement and rely upon.

As the two-week period before competition can be filled with anxiety and sudden self-doubt, nothing new should be introduced during that time.

It’s important to use the established routine and pull the skater back to it if they start to veer away. To keep the variables as much at bay as possible, the routine they go through in practice should also be the same routine they use at competition.

“The routine is their go-to and it provides comfort because they know what to expect and what to do,” she said. “The more rote you can keep things, it takes decision-making out of the situation. That is a key component to keeping calm when emotions are running high.”

Another part of the skater’s routine can be visualization, although the word itself often causes pushback from athletes.

“I often hear from skaters that they’ve tried visualization and they can’t do it,” Miyata said. “I call it ‘imagining.’ It seems to be a word and a concept that kids can more easily grasp and get behind.”

Part of the beauty of imagining is that is can be done anytime, anywhere.

“You can only do so many repetitions on the ice, but you could do mental repetitions all day long,” she said. “If a coach can make program walk-throughs and imagining a part of the skater’s routine, it is so valuable. The imagination is powerful and, if a skater falls in their mind, they can rewind and slow it down and do it again. Use their imagination to their benefit.”

The other key component to being more comfortable with competition is to, well, compete. “

Skaters are in a practice mindset about 90 percent of the time,” Miyata said. “The more they can experience being in that competition mindset— and the nerves that come along with it—the better.”

Having a clear plan for the season that has been discussed and continuing to revisit that plan will keep expectations realistic and the skater clear on goals, which, in itself, can allow for a calmer mental state.

“Skaters want to skate clean, and putting a new developmental element into a competition program can be a major source of stress,” she said. “Coaches know that skating is a marathon. It is a process and each step has value. It is important that they clearly communicate to the skater, ‘This is our goal for this element. This is why we are putting it in.’ Let the skater know that you don’t expect 100% consistency on an element that is less than 75% consistent in practice.”

For instance, a coach might have a double Axel in a skater’s program for the first competition of the season, with the idea that the goal is to be landing it by Regionals. But, at the outset of the season, the skater does not “have” the jump yet. The almost-always elusive “clean” program will not happen and that is all the skater focuses on. Cue the freak out.

“Be clear: We have this element in the program so that each competition can be a stepping stone toward Regionals,” Miyata said. “Tell them that, at this first competition, you want them just to do the double Axel. It doesn’t matter if they land it, but just have the act of actually doing it in competition as the goal. The next competition can build on that. It takes the idea of perfectionism off the table and frees the skater up to do what they know how to do and to do their best at something they are still improving.”

Circling back throughout the season can help the skater evaluate what is working and what isn’t, which also provides them with feeling in control of their routine.

“Checkpoints after each competition can evaluate if the competition goal was met and what that means for the next competition so the skater is clear on what they are working for,” Miyata said. “It’s also a good idea to check in on, ‘Did the off-ice and on-ice warm-up work for you? Do we need to tweak it?’”

Putting the skater in the position to determine what they find comforting can be a powerful tool in their preparation arsenal.

“I ask the skaters, ‘What do you want more of? What do you want less of?’” Miyata said. “More often than not the response is, ‘I want less freaking out.’ Then I ask them to evaluate what helped them when they started freaking out. When they began feeling anxious and upset, what did they do that took them out of that mindset and centered them? Whatever worked for them, we want more of that in their routine so they experience less of what they don’t want.”

While coaches are sometimes reticent to involve parents too deeply in the skating world, it can be helpful when it comes to keeping the athlete calm and focused.

“I heard an interview with (Olympic coach) Rafael (Artyunyan) where he said he relies on parents for information he can’t get from the skater,” Miyata said. “Look, parents are going to be there anyway so it can be much better for the athlete and the coach if they are included and informed. So many parents know nothing about skating—you can’t expect them to know; you must teach them. If they don’t know what their role should be, they are more likely to overstep. If you as a coach can bring them in right away, and diplomatically define ‘this is my job, this is your job’ it can all work so much better for the skater’s mental state.”

But, as any coach knows, it’s not always easy to get some parents on the same page.

“It’s important to remember that no parent sets out to sabotage their kid,” she said. “Parents come from different backgrounds and a variety of sport experiences. Sometimes they say things that are not helpful to their child’s mental state without realizing it. We all do it. It can be to the skater and the coach’s advantage to establish and keep lines of communication open. Gently point out things they can do to help.”

Much like every element in figure skating builds on what was learned at the grassroots level, so too does the mental game.

“The classic example is that everything goes fine up until right around puberty in those pre-teen years and then it’s competition time and, all of a sudden, the panic kicks in,” Miyata said. “At pre-preliminary, they are already doing harder elements. The key is starting mental skills training early. Be proactive at the developmental levels so that you are not trying to fix things and change established negative habits when these skaters are at the higher levels. If the mindset can be set early and it can make all the difference in the world.”

The higher the level and the harder the elements, the tougher the mental state needs to be.

“At the elite level, their skating skills are fairly even, so it comes down to whoever has the best mental game that day will succeed and triumph,” Miyata said. “The skill foundation is obviously hugely important, but you can have all the skills in the world and, if the skater can’t quiet his or her doubts or negative thoughts, it won’t happen.”

Establishing a go-to routine early and emphasizing it often can lay the critical groundwork that will provide comfort and control for athletes in moments of anxiousness and uncertainty.

“Start it right when they begin skating; coaches are in the perfect position for that,” Miyata said. “You don’t expect beginning skaters to stay on their feet all the time. Let them know that falling is part of skating, even at the world-class levels. Praise their improvements and their courage in ‘going for things’ and for their full effort. Coaches can influence and change so much with their words and their actions.”

A coach’s transparency can go a long way in translating words into action.

“Lastly, don’t be afraid to try new things and make mistakes yourself,” she said. “Seeing you acknowledge and learn from your mistakes, is a powerful tool to teach your students how to build a strong mindset that will serve them in practice, competition and in life.”

Classes, articles and other resources are available at icementalgame.com or email coachpomai@icementalgame.com for further information.