The nerves

[flying camel]

What can a person do to calm themselves down before they skate? I remember Paul Wylie & Nancy Kerrigan you to take their pulse before they competed.

Can someone pass on some advise?:agree:

 

[passion]

Good question. I'm wondering the same thing too.

 

[flying camel]

It really makes you wonder how skaters like Michelle, Tara, Sarah seemed to have nerves of steal, and some other skaters who were just as good as them just could not do it.
I understand the philosphy of finding something that works for you such as a sports psychology, but what do the skaters do who can't find that something?

 

[SeaniBu]

Something I was told and occasionally worked - I get bad stage fright - is that it is not you they are watching, it is your character you are portraying. *shruggs* I used to stair at the lights when I sang, sometimes I can make eye contact. It gets better overtime.

There are many many famous people with this issue, yet they put on wonderful performances. If your desire to perform is greater than your fear - one could say obviously it is or you never could have stepped out into the light to begin with - then you can overcome this, for it is what you really want. And people want you to as well. Get caught in the moment, the energy, let the performance rule your heart. You wouldn't be there if you weren't supposed to be there. Relish and enjoy.:agree:

 

[Tinymavy15]

of course experince is huge. Once you are accustomed to the strangeness of it all, then you can relax and act the part. After a few competions, i am one of the "lucky" few who are TERRIFIED in the weeks leading up to the competion, but fine once the day arrives.

 

[Ladskater]

Not much. I used to pace before tests. I know some skaters go in the washroom and flush the toilet so they can't hear the applause for the other skaters. Even some of the parents can't take it. Brian Orser's mom used to duck into the ladies room when Brian competed.

 

[dlkksk8fan]

Nerves get the best of me before tests. I usually can calm down my upper body, but my legs shake like crazy until I get pass the first move. I think some people have better control with their nerves then others.

 

[icestar]

nerves

Number 1 thing I can think of is be prepared. If you have done clean solos everyday for the last few months you would be alot less nervous. Some skaters even do back to back solos in practice so that they can preform under any conditions. This builds up your confidence tremendously.
Second, everyone gets anxious when they have to perform. the top performers know how to control their level of anxiousness. In simulations before competition figure out at what level you perform best(scale 1-10), then try to get yourself to the exact level next time you perform. Most people need to be around 7, there are a number of ways to bring your activation level up or down as needed.

 

[Wolfgang]

If you're worried about the competition, it might help to be well prepared, and have realistic - maybe slightly pessimistic - expectations.
If the audience is the problem (stage fright), just remind yourself that 98% of them couldn't do a fraction of what you're doing if their lives depended on it.

 

[mskater93]

Try and give the audience something to remember. Who cares about judges?

 

[chinesechanfan]

What can a person do to calm themselves down before they skate? I remember Paul Wylie & Nancy Kerrigan you to take their pulse before they competed.

Can someone pass on some advise?:agree:

sport psychology sucks. but just think of this, whenever i perform, i just think, "k. the rink is all mine, therfore, its like a rock concert. MY rock concert. im here to shine. other skaters dont really matter anymore." i ALWAYS say dat to myself. it really helped me and the judges will LOVE U! even if ur skating to some classical song, just think that everything u do is part of ur gig. trust me, this really works. its even better than wat MY coach told me: dont say negative things, encourage myself, etc. if u dont believe it, even if u TRY to convince urself with positive thinking, its still not gonna work. just think that ur in a rock concert and all the attention is on u so everything dat u do will impress ppl, not discourage ppl.

 

[Mathman]

^ That's a great attitude to take about performing!

 

[julietvalcouer]

I do the visualization thing. I imagine it being perfect. Works better for dance than for skating (but then I compete pro-am and therefore am in the hands of very, very capable pros who aren't going to let me humiliate myself) but overall, I just try to not think about anything that could go wrong. Admittedly this works better when one has a huge narcissist's ego, but hey, worth a shot.

 

[twinsissv]

Can someone PLEASE pass all of this along to Johnny's "camp"? :yes:

 

[passion]

sport psychology sucks. but just think of this, whenever i perform, i just think, "k. the rink is all mine, therfore, its like a rock concert. MY rock concert. im here to shine. other skaters dont really matter anymore." i ALWAYS say dat to myself. it really helped me and the judges will LOVE U! even if ur skating to some classical song, just think that everything u do is part of ur gig. trust me, this really works. its even better than wat MY coach told me: dont say negative things, encourage myself, etc. if u dont believe it, even if u TRY to convince urself with positive thinking, its still not gonna work. just think that ur in a rock concert and all the attention is on u so everything dat u do will impress ppl, not discourage ppl.

lol. There's something about your suggestion that is so adorable, sweet, and innocently naive (I mean that in a good way), but it makes sense.

 

[psycho]

Can someone PLEASE pass all of this along to Johnny's "camp"? :yes:

Alissa Czisny could use some advice too...and Emanuel Sandhu... and Carolina Kostner...Jeff Buttle...Sasha Cohen...
Joanie Rochette...Oda...Bebe...maybe we should just put this on some skater mailing list.