Competitive Stress in Practice

By Doug. Swanson, M. Sc.

Competing, for all that it is touted to be, is primarily an opportunity to bring one's training into a "test" environment. The adage that competition builds character is a misnomer. Competition exposes character. We are, in our competitions, the character we have trained in our practice environments.

If my thesis is correct, then training efforts are best when they reflect as closely as possible the nature and context of the competitive environments. The obvious first part of training is learning the mechanical or physical execution skills; putting ourselves "out-there" in the stress of physical development. We can place ourselves in very physically stressful (demanding and taxing) situations in practice, to "teach" ourselves the executions of each shot we might need to make in competition. We can even create amazingly difficult physical challenges that exceed the demands of the courses we compete on. The second part of training is creating the mental, emotional and psychological stressors that might arise in a competition.

When working with athletes I ask them to prepare well enough for competition so that when they compete they experience NO Surprises. It is my contention that if the athlete is surprised by the conditions of competition then s/he hasn't prepared well enough. This goal of No Surprises is rarely perfectly attainable. Most competitions create some surprise that we were not prepared for. The task then of the athlete is to prepare physically and mentally well-enough to have more and more competitions with fewer and fewer surprises.

What are the components that will enable athletes to compete with NO Surprises? Preparation is the key and there are several preparation areas that athletes should attend to. There are four primary areas: fundamental skills (executions), strategies or tactics, recovery from less than optimal performance and spectacular performances.

Fundamental skills are those physical tasks that are typically demanded of each athlete that plays his/her sport. An athlete who competes at an elite level has to have practiced those fundamentals to the point of automaticity. The fundamental skills of all athletic endeavors at an elite level take years and years of practice. Being fundamentally sound, being fundamentally fit, being fundamentally prepared - this is the first step to preventing surprises in our game.

Strategies or tactics require the athlete to have a game plan. I say to athletes, "Plan your play to play your plan!". When an athlete has a plan, deviations in performance are much more easily managed, because a single shot is but a fragment of the total game plan. Without a plan, every shot becomes the game winner or game loser. Having a game plan allows the athlete to mentally prepare for the course. It allows the athlete to know the nuances of the course, the day and the weather conditions. Preparation then creates a mental presence that allows confidence and comfort and reduces panic and stress. Less panic and stress prevents surprises.

In the third instance, our games would be so simple if we were able to execute every shot excellently. The joy in golf is to improve the number of "perfect" shots we make per game. Only a few (4-6) of our 70+ shots each round are actually shots that we executed perfectly. The game then seems to me to be a game of recovery. Athletes who have anticipated the deviations from perfection and have strategies for managing the deviations are going to perform better over the long haul. Being prepared to handle the deviations increases the chances of the athlete performing optimally. KNOWING that deviations from the game plan will occur, reduces the stress. Because deviations are actually more "normative" than perfection, the athlete is prepared to accept the challenges that the game will impose. Accepting the challenges that the game imposes reduces the chance of stress that will contribute to reduced performance. Hence, the deviations are not viewed as surprises but as outcomes that are to be expected and addressed as opportunities to bring our practice to the competition venue.

Lastly, I ask athletes to imagine the spectacular. I ask them to imagine the amazing come-back story; the amazing recovery through a shot to a blind green from a deep bunker; the spectacular long difficult putt to tie or win an event. The spectacular images can be and are endless. The point I stress with athletes is that some day you will need to draw that shot out of your body. Having rehearsed that shot and imagined the spectacular performance further prepares the athlete for No Surprises.

In conclusion, the way we practice and prepare is the way we play. In playing our game it is essential to physically and mentally create the game. Fundamental skill execution, strategic presence, preparation for deviations and imagining the spectacular create a set of skills to draw on in competition. No Surprises!

The Brent Morrison Golf Academy is located at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, 1025 Qualicum Road, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1M5. (250) 752-8786. For more information on instruction programs for adults and juniors, contact the Academy office.

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