Mental Preparation from US Aerial Athlete Alex Bowen February 19 2013 Alpine

US Aerial National Team's Alex Bowen on Mental Preparation

Hi my name is Alex Bowen, and I'm on the United States Aerial Ski Team. If you don't know anything about aerial skiing, it's basically gymnastic acrobatics with skis on your feet. We aerialists ski into a 13 foot high, 65 degree jump around 40 miles an hour, and go upwards about 45 feet. To do this we need to be completely mentally ready, because there is little room for error.

First of all if you're not having fun while doing a sport, that's a distraction within itself. The biggest reason I do aerial skiing is, because I absolutely love it! Relaxing prior to doing your jump is very important to a successful jump. When I myself get too scared I lose focus on the small goals I need to do every time as I'm coming off the jump. One of the most helpful pep talks I can give myself is that "this isn't a big deal, I do this all the time, the jump does most of the work, and I wouldn't want to be working a real job right now". Mentally seeing and feeling what you are about to perform can be just as good of a training tool as launching off the jump itself. Getting nervous happens all the time, but if you can resort back to mental visualization that can be the confidence booster you need.

Now right before I'm about to go, I remind myself of a couple keywords that will help me do my best. I usually tell myself something along the lines "stay tight and go with the curve". These two reminders help me ride off the jump smoothly. Then when it comes time to turn and go you have to be in the zone. What only matters is the movements you are about to perform to make this the best jump you can do.

Good luck!

Alex

Photo by: Eric Loughran

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Update from Cheever

The season isn't halfway finished, but I feel like I am entering the all-star break and my team is below .500. It's February 6th. There are 4 world cups, one team race, US Grand Prix, an invite only SBX in Finland and maybe USASA Nats left if I want to sandbag and take a stab at 3 grand.

My results have been all over the board. 6th, 4th, 42nd, 34th, 20th.

Mentally, I am stronger than ever. Physically, I can push more weight harder and faster than ever before. Aside from a stomach problem and being about 10lbs underweight, I am fit.

The toughest thing about recovering from my Achilles tear is getting the instincts back. It is a little disheartening listening to people who think they may know better... saying things like "just don't be scared" or "your mental game is off".

To be real, that isn't the case. I get in the gate and think I am going to qualify with a low bib number and then I think I am going to win every heat I race. Results haven't been showing that, but I want to let every who is worrying about my riding to know they should just relax and my result will pop. I just need to connect some dots and execute and the results follow. Nothing is out of my skill set... except finishing out of the top 10!

My coaches know what is up, and so do the riders closest to me. I had to learn how to walk again properly. Snowboarding down a race course isn't as second nature as it used to be. But it is coming along... not as quickly as I would like. I need to dig into my bag of tricks and make everything instinctual again. Pointing it down a hill takes more finesse and wit than balls if you ask me.

Edge too hard, one won't qualify. Miss a transition, one would fall from 1st to 4th. Slide a turn? Well at this level, may as well take up waxing snowboards because you need to know how to burn every turn.

My current World Cup Ranking is 15th. My next World Cup is the 17th of this month in Russia. Look for that number to drop 10 digits or so.

I'm off to the wax room to bake some Tribloc into my race boards.

Cheever