Sport Psychology gives IU athletes extra edge

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http://iusportcom.com/track/mind-games/


Mind Games
by Kevin Loughery on Feb.18, 2011, under track

Sport Psychology gives IU athletes extra edge

When Vera Neuenswander closes her eyes each night as she goes to bed, she imagines the pole vault runway at Purdue’s Lambert Fieldhouse. She visualizes her approach, the way it feels to plant, the texture of the runway on her feet and her extension, turn and flyaway—each time, of course, with perfect execution. She said she knows all aspects of the West Lafayette facility.

In reality, Neuenswander has been to Lambert Fieldhouse only twice. In her mind, however, the redshirt senior has visited the site of this year’s Big Ten Indoor Championships more times than she can count.

“Watching myself do it correctly at the location, my body knows how to do it right because I’ve seen myself do it 100 times in my mind,” she said. “For me with the pole vault, it’s one of the most mental events. You have three tries to make it over this bar. When you’re competing like that it’s a do or die. Just that mental preparedness makes me confident that I can do it.”


As a Division I athlete and first-year master’s student in counseling, Neuenswander said she understands the mental side of competition and uses positive mental imagery to rid her mind of doubt or insecurity.

“It can be easy to doubt yourself, especially when you are going through a hard time,” she said. “When things don’t add up as you’ve wanted them to, it’s difficult sometimes to remember there is a plan, to remember I’m committed to what the coaches are saying and being confident that what we’re doing is right.”

From an academic standpoint, Neuenswander is able to relate her experiences as an athlete to her training because she understands the mind’s capabilities, and has learned the importance of sport psychology through working with Dr. Chris Carr and Dr. Jesse Steinfeldt, sport psychologists at IU.

But the field of sport psychology—relatively new in the US—has a stigma.

“Psychology is not laying on a couch, saying you want to sleep with your mother or any sort of weird, crazy things that are stigmatized in society,” said Steinfeldt, a former three-sport athlete at Yale. “Rather, counseling is just a conversation.”

The university offers sport psychology services to each varsity team and athlete. The department, according to Steinfeldt, works to train athletes to stay more focused, in tune, and present in their athletic endeavors through daily exercises of mental repetition, relaxation, and positive thought.

However, Neuenswander notes that because of the inaccurate and negative image of psychological treatment, a considerable number of IU athletes become discouraged from taking advantage of a useful resource.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that if you are seeing a sport psychologist, you have an issue, you’re weak, you’re a head case, or whatever,” she said. “The best athletes in the world see sport psychologists. That’s one of the first things I learned. It’s just another tool in your toolbox. It’s less of ‘We’re going to fix you’ and more of ‘We’re going to better equip you for competition.’”

Steinfeldt said being mentally sound in high-level athletics is as necessary for an athlete as watching film, hydrating, or weight training.

“If you want your legs strengthened, you go lift some weights,” Steinfeldt said. “If you want your mental capacity strengthened, you’re going to work with sport psychology.

Neuenswander said the main relationship between an athlete and sport psychologist is simply a regular series of reminders for the athlete to stay positive and trust their physical ability, especially in times where pressure can cause an athlete to make excuses for themselves.

“That can be a huge help when you think, ‘Crap, what am I doing here?’” she said.

And she knows it works.

In 2009, Neuenswander prepared for her chance at an NCAA title at the outdoor championships at the University of Arkansas when she noticed her competition complaining for various reasons.

“I started to hear girls around me start to complain: ‘My knee hurts, its hot out, I brought the wrong pole,’” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘Holy crap, I’ve already beaten five of these girls because they’ve beaten themselves.”

Neuenswander placed second in the nation that day behind Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson by 10 centimeters.

“She was the only one outside of myself who didn’t beat herself and participate in the chatter.”

To Steinfeldt, sport psychology is not magic. It just makes sense.

“A person who has strong mental skills can go from good to great,” Steinfeldt said. “A person with strong mental skills can go from great to excellent. It’s not going to make a terrible player fantastic, but it’s really going to give you that extra edge. You can only do so many extra bench presses, and everybody is doing that. The mental edge is what really is going to set you apart.”

As the Feb. 26 conference indoor championships come closer, Neuenswander will visit Lambert Fieldhouse a few more times in her mind.

“I’ve only been to Purdue twice,” she said. “But in my mind I can see myself doing it perfectly every time.”