Sports Psychology at the Olympics

Once again – the Mind Body Connection is prevalent in sport as we look at this great article about USA Beach Volleyball London Gold Medal hopefuls talk about the mental challenges of the Olympic games.  Check it out the article by USA Today, Tuesday, August 7, 2012:

Kerri Walsh, Misty May-Treanor poised for third gold

By Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY

LONDON – There were extra hugs, especially loud cheers and essentially a victory lap around the court.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh definitely weren't acting as if they'd been there before, even though, of course, they've won their share of Olympic semifinal matches.

After they came back from deficits in both sets to beat China's Xi Zhang and Chen Xue 22-20, 22-20 Tuesday night, May-Treanor and Walsh couldn't contain themselves. This one meant more, and this gold would mean more than the two they already own.

"It's an emotional thing," Walsh said. "We have one more match together, and we're not thinking that it's about that yet, but it heightens everything."

            That means the 13-7 deficit in the first set felt even larger than it was. The six consecutive points May-Treanor and Walsh reeled off at that point? Even more game-changing. When the match see-sawed back and forth in the second set, it felt even more dramatic.

So the victory tasted sweeter, especially because of how difficult it has been for the world's most famous beach volleyball players to get here — back in the gold medal match.

There was a baby, an Achilles injury and, most recently, some mental issues for the pair to overcome.

About two months ago, May-Treanor and Walsh were training for their unprecedented third goal medal, but something was wrong. They couldn't figure it out.

            "We were trying to find this easy answer - if we jump higher or move faster - and it was never physical," Walsh said. "It was only mental and emotional."

            So they went to see a sports psychologist Walsh had been seeing since 2009.

"What it came down to was we were afraid of disappointing each other," Walsh said. "That's not possible for Misty for ever to disappoint me, and vice versa. Once we realized that, it was like, 'We've been so silly.' But I think we had to go through that."

Walsh has worked on her own anxiety issues. For example, she said she'll spell the word "pass" many times a day to control her mind and psyche. Right before opponents serve, she's thinking P-A-S-S.

The sports psychologist is here in London, too, and he's working with the pair to make sure they remain focused throughout these Games.

"We had two goals since we reconnected and talked to our sports psychologist," Walsh said. "One was to cherish every moment together, cherish the journey because the journey allows you to learn and grow. The other was to win a gold medal.

"We've absolutely been learning and cherishing every moment. Now, we have one more goal to accomplish, and we are going to do it."

Tuesday night's semifinal may have been the perfect preparation for Wednesday's gold medal match though it seemed a bit nerve-wracking. May-Treanor and Walsh were down 13-7 at one point in the first set and faced a set point in the second. Still, they managed to come up with a big block or a key defensive play when it mattered most.

Instead of coasting into the final - like they did in Athens and Beijing without losing a set in either Olympics - they're coming into this one having faced some obstacles. And, more importantly, they've overcome them.

"You've got to learn something from each match you play in," May-Treanor said. "When we played the Schwaiger sisters (in group play), we lost the first set. We were able to come back and win. Against China, we were down in the first set.

"Our coach always tells us there isn't a situation we haven't been in that we feel we can't get out of. That's what you have to take from that. Obviously, you don't want to be down in the first set …but we've done it before. We can do this. It's just us sticking together."