How Athlete Kyle Smaine, World Half Pipe Champion, handles pressure and stress.

Kyle Smaine joined us on one of our Uthrive Ski Retreats and talked to us about how athletes handle pressure and competing on the world stage (see video below).  So many athletes don’t succeed as they choke on competition day.  This can happen to some of us whether it’s on the ski hill or in the boardroom.  So how do athletes stop this from happening?

If an Athlete can’t handle Pressure they will fail.

Kyle immediately focuses on the internal pressure we put on ourselves.  We control the amount of pressure that is put on us.  It is the internal voice we listen to, not the external voices. Athletes have an amazing ability to zone this out.  Kyle even admits himself that he does not perform well when he is putting a lot of pressure on himself.  He distances himself from the pressures and skis to have fun, then he performs well – so well that he is World Half Pipe Champion.

How you as an athlete can handle pressure

Progressing in a sport is more than improving your physical ability.  You need to work on your mental aspect as well.  Athletes like Kyle Smaine, give us an excellent insight on how to improve using our mental ability.  Focus on why you’re doing something, in Kyle’s case it’s because he loves skiing, not because his sponsor say so!  On the Uthrive Ski Retreats we run our retreats with Pros and World Champions, like Kyle, so they can help you with your mental techniques; over come fear, handle pressure and stress, think positively and improve your confidence.  It’s more than your skiing technique you learn from these athletes.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re standing on top of a mountain, or a half pipe or in front of a room of people but as Kyle says, ask yourself, is everyone putting pressure on me or am I putting it on myself?

Visit here for more information on Uthrive Ski Retreats to ski with World Champions and learn how to think & ski like an athlete, handle pressure and stress.