Positive Competition Mentality

Written by 2021-22 U.S. Figure Skating Dream Program and Adrian College Varsity Synchronized Skating Team Member, Gia Swanson.

Imagine walking into the warm-up area and hearing the loud music of every team preparing to go on the ice. Imagine walking into your team's locker room as you prepare to lace your skates and go on the ice. Imagine the feeling of goosebumps as you stand before the door to the ice getting ready to launch out the door like a racehorse. Competition can bring the most exhilarating feelings in the world depending on how you mentally prepare prior to competing. I personally love competing because of the adrenaline I always have on the day of competition and the mental connection with my teammates. As we enter this upcoming competition season, I believe that it is important to address how to prepare mentally for competitions by practicing how you compete, preparing the week of competition and having confidence when you compete the day of competition.
 
Practice How You Compete

Going to practice can feel like a tedious assignment, like an exciting new experience every single day. Going into practice with the mindset that you are going to make the best of that practice and leave everything on the ice will ultimately prepare you for the day of competition as you will already have the muscle memory built into your system. I like to focus on building my expression and passion into every run-through that I do and not just think about the technical elements. Granted, every day is not going to be your best day, but by learning to leave outside distractions at the door, you will be able to go to practice with a better attitude.

Having a positive attitude can also make or break your practices. When given corrections by my coach, I always do my best to listen to them and not take any of these corrections personally. Knowing that every person is given corrections and that these corrections ultimately help the entire team helps to keep me in a positive mindset for the entire practice. Positivity also brings the best out of every person, which will allow the entire team to excel and make the best of every practice.
 
Competition Week Preparation

Competition week is one of my favorite times of the synchro season because every person on the team feeds off each other's energy in order to prepare for the day of competition. One of the biggest things I try to keep in mind throughout this week is to not drastically change any of the movements that I have been doing at practice, but instead try and perfect these movements by practicing how I would compete.

I also work on incorporating confidence into how I skate. I hold a strong posture and provide strength behind my movements, which allows me to not only look confident on the ice but to also feel confident mentally as I go into competition. Showing confidence is in no way showing arrogance, but helps you feel strong as an individual and as a team before you step on the ice. Moreover, physical and mental health go hand-in-hand. During competition week, I give special attention to my physical health to ensure that I am in the best mindset for practices and the upcoming competition. I ensure that I am fueling my body with healthy food options, hydrating, and sleeping well to allow myself to recover.
 
Day of Competition

After much preparation and immense waiting, the day of competition will finally come. For me, the key to competition is learning to channel my nerves and excitement into positive energy for my teammates and myself. Being nervous for a competition is completely normal and even expected; however, learning to comprehend these nerves and channel them to have a good skate is what is most important for competition. On the day of competition, I focus my energy into giving my best effort into my warmup and walking in the rink with confidence. Having this confidence will truly you feel better about yourself and create positive energy for my entire team.

I also remember to always enjoy the small moments throughout this day and have fun with my teammates. By laughing with my teammates and having fun during my warmup, it releases my nerves and gets me excited for when we compete. In the locker room and right as I am about to enter the ice, I also do different exercises that focus my energy and allow myself to feel grounded in my skates. In specific, I like to take deep breaths while holding my breath for a short period of time. I also like to wiggle my toes in my skates or feel my dress beside me to focus my energy onto the competition. I squeeze every muscle in my body and then release this tension to help calm the overall tension in my body.
 
Overall, competition season is truly one of the biggest things that I love about synchro, and I love having teammates beside me that I can always rely and trust. Being open with my teammates is one of the biggest aspects that helps me to prepare mentally for competitions. If you are feeling nervous before your competition, your teammates will most likely feel the same, and it always helps to talk about it so that we can learn how we can ultimately best support each other and create a beautiful performance. After competitions, I always allow myself time to relax, recover and reflect. Competition season can definitely be difficult, but I trust that by being positive for your entire team, channeling your energy, and allowing recovery time after competition, any team can be the absolute best they can be at competitions. I wish every team the best of luck this season and cannot wait to finally reconnect
at in-person competitions this season!
 
With love,
Gia Swanson