The Sports Mastermind
The Sports Mastermind is the premier sports psychology podcast. We break down and lay out step-by-step instructions teaching you how to implement the fundamentals of sports psychology. Each segment focuses on breaking down a specific element in 10 minutes or less.The content is relevant for young athletes all the way to the pros. The mental development of athletes applies to all sports, genders, levels and abilities. We break down complicated topics into easy to digest and implement segments. Internationally recognized expert Laura Ratto combines her experiences as a former professional athlete with her experience in the domestic and international sports industry to help athletes reach their full potential and optimize performance. She utilizes her Master’s Degree and CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) to develop programs for Olympic training centers, college curriculum and published works to help individuals in their quest to excel at every level. Laura Ratto teaches at several colleges including Cyamaca, Southwestern, and USK where she developed curriculum for an emphasis in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology for Kinesiology majors.
The Sports Mastermind
E37: Making the Most of a New Experience - Maccabi Series
Making the most of a new experience
Have you ever been exposed to a new experience and not been sure what to do? You might be introduced to new people and be a little bit outside of your element and feel uncomfortable. As time goes on you start to get more comfortable and wish you would have participated more earlier on. Has this ever happened to you?
For the last month I have been working with Maccabi Games and will be coaching volleyball for the San Diego Delegation next month. As these athletes come together, they will be playing on teams with people that they do not normally play with. This can cause some feelings of stress and anxiety especially if you do not know which team you are going to be on. What can you do? As we discussed in earlier episodes it is really important to focus on the things that you can control. What can you control? You can control your own thoughts and actions! You can control how you look at the situation. Go in with an open mindset and focus on the positive things that happen with each interaction you have with fellow teammates.
Another thing you can do is listen to your coach and focus on the things that he or she is telling you to do. Don't compare yourself to the other players on the field or in the gym. It does not matter so much what team you are on as how you make the most of your experience.
How do you make the most of your experience? One way to do this is to allow yourself to go outside of your comfort zone. If you are someone who has a hard time talking to people, try to make it a point to say hello and get to know one new Athlete on your team before each practice. This can start with something as easy as going to say hello to a different person before every practice. If you have questions about the skill or the drill or what you're doing, be sure to ask your coach. They are there to help you and want to make sure that you are having a great experience as well. Conversely, if you are someone that is outgoing and meets people easily, make it a point to help other players that may be having a harder time talking to new people. These are especially important if you are going to be playing on blended teams with players from different delegations.
One thing that I tell all of my athletes that I coach to do is to keep a notebook. This notebook is going to be one that you can put in all of the information that your coach or coaches are telling you. Keep in mind that this notebook can be electronic OR a pen and paper notebook. This event only goes on for so long, but what you learn you can incorporate into your skills in your sport moving forward. After each practice, summarize what you learned and write it in your notebook along with any questions that you might have. You can bring me those questions to the next practice to ask the coach or you can email the coach with the questions that you may have. This will help you to optimize your experience from an athlete perspective. You can also put any handouts or workouts or skill things that the coach gives you into this notebook. This notebook can also be used to write down information about the week of the event; things that happened, or a day you played really well, or a good interaction that you had with another athlete or somebody from another delegation. Keeping this information will be a nice way to look back on your experience.
Finally take advantage of all of the activities available to make the most of your experience. From cultural exchanges to posting to community service and everything in between, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so be sure that you enjoy it and get involved as much as possible.
To Review, The Focus four for Making the most of a New Experience are:
- Focus on the things that you can control - your own thoughts and actions!
- Go outside of your comfort zone
- Keep a notebook so that you can keep track of information that you learn from your coach and ask questions
- Participate in as many of the activities surrounding the event as possible to get the entire experience
Which one of these ways to help you focus on making the most of a new experience do you think will help you or someone you know have a great experience? Try incorporating one of the focus four this week and see what happens! For assistance with practice or additional tools to help you make the most of new experiences, contact me at RattoConsulting.com. If you or your organization are interested in hosting a workshop or virtual seminar on this or any other sports psychology or performance optimizing topic, please email me at Laura@RattoConsulting.com.
The Maccabi games are an annual International Event where jewish athletes from all over the world come to compete in these games. This olympic-style competition include Sports such as baseball, basketball, flag football, ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, dance, Esports, golf, tennis and swimming just to name a few. This event also includes community service and brings together players from all over the world for a week. For more information visit jccmaccabisd.org.
"Do one thing every day that scares you." Eleanor Roosevelt
