In-Depth 2022 Post 4
By Julianne
My mentor and I have a great relationship. We are both very comfortable talking with each other and continue to make progress throughout this project. But one challenge we have been dealing with is organizing in-person meetings. This has been a challenge because we both have different schedules. My mentor has a family and work, while I have extra curriculars and school, so the best we can do for meeting is often make a phone call. The phone call works ok, but a face-to-face conversation would be the best way to communicate as my project is action based. It is also difficult for us to match our schedules for practicing. I have not had the chance to practice ski racing with my mentor. He usually skis on Sundays with his family, but my family can only ski on Saturdays. Instead of skiing in person together, I send him videos of myself practicing various drills and practicing my carving. He also sent a few videos to me to show the proper form for certain drills. Watching him show me through video rather than in person was helpful. I have also watched videos online because I find it easier to learn by watching instead of just listening. Though we have a challenge, we have found a way to deal with it. Phone calls and sending videos are not my preferred method of communication, but they are what work the best for us.
We have been challenged with not being able to practice in person on the hill, but our video system has been working well. It is not the same as being in person, but it is still effective. My mentor can see my progress as if he was there, and then he simply texts me his feedback instead of verbally telling me in the moment on the hill. When he sends me videos, I can watch them repeatedly, which I would not have the ability to do if he was showing me in person. This is one of the benefits to the video system. I can repeatedly look at the feedback I am given and the videos I am shown instead of having to rely on my brain to remember until I get home. So, though we have come across an obstacle, we have overcome it well.
Something that could be working better, is getting on the hill to practice more often. I have a limited number of days on my pass, so I can’t ski more days than is permitted. But I can work on maximizing the time I have on the hill each day. To do this, I should maximize the amount of time I practice on a given ski day. Instead of only taking approximately three runs (the runs are long in Whistler) to work on drills and form, I should focus on taking more runs throughout my day to focus on these things. I need more repetition to improve my form and I can do this by spending even more time on my ski days practicing.
I have not made a ton of progress since my last blog post because I have been away for two weeks. But I am skiing this coming Saturday (April 2nd) and I plan on spending lots of time on my carving, drills, and improving my time. I was looking online about the mindset a ski racer must have. I will ask my mentor to add to my knowledge, but one article talks about three different mindsets. They are aggressive, calm, and clear. The article says that the mindset you choose depends on how you are feeling or the type of person you are. The aggressive mindset is about having grit, determination, and no fear. It is about just going for it. A calm mindset is about taking deep breaths and calming yourself down. It often helps racers who get nervous to put any doubt out of their minds. A clear mindset is about clearing your mind of anything outside of skiing. This mindset gets rid of any distractions. I think the mindset that would work best for me is having an aggressive mindset. It is usually the mindset I use for other sports, such as soccer. This mindset works for me, and I am most used to the aggressive mindset. I will try to focus on having an aggressive mindset this Saturday when I am timing myself down the GMC Race Centre. Overall, I have a lot to think about and focus on for this Saturday. I will take many videos and practice many times throughout the day. I’m excited to report back with my progress in the future!
Below is the link that contains the three mindsets I talked about in the above paragraph:
As well, here is an example of a video my mom took of me on the hill for my mentor to see. I was practicing one of the drills he had suggested.