Interview: Corinne Mayhew (August 2015)
Interview 9: Tom Wilmott - New Zealand Park & Pipe Snowsports High Performance Programme - Head Coach
1.What have you found to be the most common psychological barriers experienced by your team?
- Anxiety experienced when pushing the boundaries and operating at the limits of their challenge-skill balance
- Lack of belief in their ability to be the best, to deserve to win, to achieve excellence
- Recovering from injury and returning to a bullet-proof state
2. Which successful techniques have you used to overcome these barriers?
- Pre-performance routines
- Positive self-talk
- Imagery
- Performance (as opposed to outcome) focussed goal-setting
- Relaxation skills
3. Do you believe certain disciplines provoke particular psychological barriers?
Yes there are certainly different nuances within each discipline – the head-to-head and other-referenced nature of boardercross competition vs the self-referenced goal attainment nature of the freestyle disciplines. The freestyle disciplines have more elements within an athlete’s own control and are closer to the closed-skill spectrum, while boardercross has an element of open-skill with the actions of other racers impacting performance and risk of injury etc.
3. Do you feel that training the mind is just as important as training the body?
Yes definitely, because at the elite level when it comes down to who succeeds and who fails it is more likely to be due to mental aspects than physical aspects.
4. How do you identify an athlete is experiencing a psychological barrier and the problem doesn't stem from another area of their training?
By knowing them, communicating with them and aiming to control controllables and eliminate other barriers to performance such as physical, technical, equipment.
4. Specifically, how do you assist athletes to overcome psychological barriers associated with previous injuries?
We aim to instil confidence by helping them to realise they are physically stronger than they were prior to their injury (after completing sufficient rehab and strengthening). We ensure that their return to snow and return to performance is graduated appropriately and they receive positive feedback that their rehab has been effective. We use specialists including clinical and sport psychologists to help modify behaviour and provide the athlete with tools to increase their awareness of and manage their emotions.
5. Have you developed effective teaching or coaching tools that have proven to overcome specific psychological barriers?
Yes, through study and research, trial and error and learning from others.
6. Have the New Zealand coaches and instructors implemented a recognised, structured pathway to give psychological support to clients, athletes and fellow coaches/instructors?
Not specifically. It has been more ad-hoc and reliant on the psychological skills and knowledge of coaches within the programme.
