Mental vs. Mental

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself….”

So cliched, but oh so true in diving. Coaching divers - especially the young ones - is mostly about fear management. A diver who is new to the sport really does not care if their toes are pointed, or legs are straight when they are doing their first back dive tuck on 1 meter. They do not want to land on their back. Plain and simple…

When does this fear go away? It’s different for everyone. There are a few of the lucky divers (or stupid ones) who have no fear, and pain is just an aberration. They can smack over and over and it’s no big deal. It’s hard to find, but those divers do exist.

Can you become a great diver if you are deathly afraid of smacking? Of course. It takes time though. Time to realize that a smack is a smack, and it is going to happen.

How to get over your fear? Here are some tips:

1. The sooner the dive is done, the sooner the anxiety is gone. The longer you wait, the worse it is. We all know that. Counting helps, but when I was afraid, a looked at a clock and told myself that in 2 minutes all of this fear will be over. The sooner you do the dive, the better.

2. Realize that it’s part of the sport and accept it. EVERYONE smacks. It’s like getting kicked in the shin in soccer. It’s going to happen. When you smack, even if tears well-up in your eyes, the other divers have been down your road, and they understand. And even if I am laughing at you when you smack, it’s because you probably looked funny. Go watch it on TiVO a couple of times and you will laugh too. Besides, everyone’s going to beat you to the TiVO to watch you eat it in slow motion. It’s sort of has become a rite of passage.

3. Realize that your mind will make the dive worse than what it is. It’s only a dive. Go with the numbers. If you do 30 dives a practice, and smack once every 2 weeks, that’s 1 smack in 180 tries. That’s pretty good odds if you ask me.

4. Life is good. You have a roof on your house, food to eat, get to dive, make friends, and are a part of a team. Most people do not have it that good in the United States, more or less this world to say the least. Be thankful for what you have, and if a smack is all your complaining about; then life is pretty good. Please don’t complain. I don’t want to hear it.

Happy Smacking!!!! x x x (those are smacks!)