Comments that hurt your triathlon performance

An athlete recently asked me how to get a comment someone has made to you out of your head so that you can refocus on racing.

That is a great question from the point of view of both you and the person who distracted you.

The first thing you do is realize that the person who made the comment knew what they were doing, either consciously or subconsciously. In North America we are a very competitive lot and we do a lot of things to mess others up. Now this person who did this would likely be appalled if you accused them of throwing you off your game. It is so automatic that we can't help it sometimes. So, for starters, if the person who made the comment is hearing this, or you are someone who is prone to giving advice because you think it is helpful, don't, because this type of advice or comment isn't helpful.

For you the triathlete, since you'll never muzzle all the comments, you have to learn how to deal with them. Here are three suggestions:

1) See if you can get away for 30 minutes before your round. I call it the 30-Minute rule and it works to avoid most of the chatter. I teach various strategies you can do in this period of time - but just getting away helps. At the beginning of races this may not be possible, so certainly avoid talking to others during that time.

2) After every conversation, before you head off to do your 30 minutes of prep, take a mental shower. I imagine reaching up to pull the chain and all this imaginary water pours down and cleanses me. I've taught this to medical practitioners and other professionals who need to stay unaffected by some seriously sick people (and I'm not suggesting the person who made the comment to you was sick).

3) Replay the comment in your head and then "play" it backward in a way where you imagine it all garbled up. Play it forward, then backward again. Do this several times faster and faster. This is a bit like running a nail across an old vinyl LP and after a while you'll make no sense of it. You may even forget the original troublesome comment.

So give it a tri. Have fun with these strategies and see which one works best for you. And if you'd like to make people like this disappear, not like Tony Soprano does, but with the strategies as a part of my program, give me a call.

Psychologists We're Not

An Educational Approach to the Mental Game

So what’s up with SportExcel? Simply this – our approach is educational not psychological. We teach sport strategies, just like adding and subtracting are school strategies. We teach strategies that are simple to learn, fun to use and results-oriented. With a strategies approach, change occurs quickly—days versus months or even years. More importantly, they are at an athlete’s fingertips 24/7, especially in the heat of the game.


Imagine your coach coming over to you after a really embarrassing mistake and saying, “You need to be smarter out there.” You’d probably feel even worse. But, what if you could fix the problem in less than the time it took for your coach to walk over to you? Would that be cool or what? What if you could use a strategy to copy a pro’s finesse or bring a person who just intimidated you down to size in your mind? And what if you could do this instantly as well? You would get back in the game pretty quick, wouldn’t you?


The SportExcel approach teaches athletes and coaches these kinds of strategies. If you can’t get up for your game—fix it. If you are frustrated—fix it. If you have serious butterflies—fix it. If an opponent’s goaltender stymies you—figure him or her out.


Equipped with strategies, you’ll become more independent and coachable. You’ll know from experience that every mistake makes you stronger, because you now have the tools to fix virtually any mistake. Imagine having that kind of power. You’ll learn to feel fantastic in your game, in school and in life.


The SportExcel program has been tried and tested in many sports: the martial arts, hockey, tennis, baseball, volleyball, skating, golf, baseball, basketball, snowboarding, football and the international clay target sports to name a few. Our athletes and coaches have won Olympic, international, national and regional events. The approach has even been tried and tested in the classroom, as many of our athletes are seeking scholarships. This is quite fitting, when you think of it, as it is an educational approach.