Sport Psych

Knowing When to Relax

Sometimes you focus, sometimes you hang loose. Sport Psych is about reflecting on yourself as an athlete, how you prepare for a game, creating the optimal performance, clicking with your team, and truly, how you handle adversity.

Lisa Izzi interviews Shannon, a 14 yr old from Northern California, who plays multiple sports and goes to school. We want to know how she approaches sports and life mentally and how that works for her.

L.I.: Tell me about your family, who influences you, and what is your lifestyle like.

Shannon: I have a sister, Colleen who is almost 17 and plays volleyball and basketball and a brother, Brian who is 11 and plays basketball and will play football in the fall.  My dad played sports all his life and played football in college and still plays in a couple of basketball leagues.  My mom never played sports growing up but now she plays tennis in a couple of leagues.  I have a golden retriever, Tracy and two cats, Grace and Shadow.  Our whole family tries to get exercise and eat right.  My mom keeps lots of pretty healthy food in our house.

L.I.: Give me a couple individual and/or team accomplishments—and tell us what’s important to you.

Shannon: Well, having my team get a bid to the junior Olympics is a really big accomplishment in volleyball.  We worked really hard as a team to achieve that.  Now we get to go to Minneapolis in July to compete with the best teams in our age group.  I’m really excited! Also, making the All-Net basketball team on my first try was pretty cool, too. I’ve been able to get really good grades this year too which is important and took a lot of effort because I am really busy and had to manage my time.  But I wouldn’t trade any of it… I love being this busy and competitive!

L.I.: Shannon, you’ve played basketball and volleyball on several teams with different coaches. What kind of tips do they give you when the score is close and the team seems a little uptight.

Shannon: “Just focus on getting a good set, not too tight but not too off, that way our hitter can hit it and we’ll get a kill.” (A kill is when you hit a ball that goes straight into the ground on the opponent’s side for a point)

L.I.: Shannon, as an athlete you have to do many things well, especially in your mind. Let’s talk “Sport Psych.” How do you practice sports when you’re NOT on the court. Give me three examples of what you do in your head.

Shannon: Well, sometimes I visualize myself setting the perfect ball right to the hitter. Sometimes I practice the motion of setting without a ball in my hands and I also try to repeat “square to the net” over and over because that’s the best position to be in to set the ball well.

L.I.: What do you do when you feel stiff or nervous?

Shannon: To be honest, I just bite my lip, and say, “forget about it”

L.I.: Sports can be competitive. On a scale from 1 to 10, how competitive are you? Describe yourself on the court.

Shannon: I’d say most likely I’m anywhere from a 6 to a 9 on the competitive scale. It depends on the moment. During games I’m competitive, but I can also be fun and loose. At practices I’m focused, most the time, but I also goof around when it’s appropriate... Who doesn’t?

L.I.: It sounds like you know when you need to relax—kick it around with the team. On that note, what could you teach a girl younger than you just starting to play your sports?

Shannon: Have fun with it; don’t worry about being competitive until you’re older!

L.I.: Some people think that playing sports is just too serious. What is it about being physically active that makes you want to keep doing it?

Shannon: Without being physically active, life wouldn’t be as much fun, in my opinion! Being active is fun, and it keeps you healthy!

L.I.: Finally, tell us about a funny or embarrassing blooper that happened to you—and make us laugh!

Shannon: In one of my games I went to set a ball and it went through my hands and hit me on the head, I was laughing about it afterward, but it was still kind of embarrassing. Also, in Reno (for a volleyball tournament) we got into our coaches rooms and stole one of my coach’s hair gel. We found out in the morning that he actually had back-up hair gel! That sure made us laugh!

L.I.: Thanks, Shannon! You’re the best! And we wish you luck in the Junior Olympic tournament.