Rebecca Mai ‘27
EE Staff Writer
It’s getting cold and the winter season for our THS athletes is coming up or has already begun. Many sports will take place in the gymnasium but there are also a few sports that will be outside and our athletes will have practice in very cold temperatures. But how will they handle this? Because it is not just wearing warmer clothes but also about staying mentally strong and motivated in the coldness and darkness of the winter months.
Obviously, the cold temperatures and the darkness are going to impact all our athletes. First, I want to explain the physical and performance impacts that our athletes have to work through in their winter season.
In the winter, athletes have to be even more careful with their own health. Wearing warm clothes and warming up the muscles is the most important thing during all the practices. In addition, something that not everyone knows, breathing technique is very important in the winter. You have to find your breathing rhythm every day and the even harder thing is to keep this rhythm. Each small distraction can destroy your rhythm and that can cause harm to the lungs or chest. You may ask yourself, “why does this impact the winter season’s athletes more than in fall or spring?” There’s a simple reason for it: in the winter, air is colder and breathing cold air is always difficult for your lungs. When you then get confused about your breathing, your lungs will hurt even more and you won’t be able to concentrate on your own performance anymore.
Another health issue is the function of muscles. The coldness affects all your muscles and it gets harder to move them. That’s something you may not notice when you’re just walking around but from the part where you’re really moving under sporting circumstances, you’re gonna feel it. A good and very common example for this is sprinting or especially running for longer distances. After a few minutes, everyone will notice that their legs feel heavier and less moveable. That means technically that athletes in this situation have to “fight” against this phenomenon and have to use more energy for the same amount of sport.
But what about the mental part and what makes the winter season more “mentally tough” than the others? For me personally as an indoor track athlete, the biggest mental issue is the darkness and coldness. Even though it’s cold outside, you have to stay motivated and think positively. That isn’t easy and I hope that all my teammates and other winter athletes can feel understood about it. It’s hard to set the mark in your brain that you have to perform and that the temperature doesn’t matter, that you have to work and work and work when all your friends are relaxing in their warm and cozy homes. But that is how the winter season works and I hate to say it but we all have to get through it and we should show our “Eagle Pride” in performing even better in the winter season.
But also, I know what you mean, how? And that’s why I thought about a few tips and tricks that make it easier to stay in this mindset in the winter season. First of all, you can start with thinking about why you’re doing this and why you’re here. And there’s only one answer: Because you want to represent THS and you want to run for your school and show your “Eagle Pride” in competing and winning, of course, against other schools!
Another thing that might work for you, is the “rewards principle”. That means that you’re doing something harder first and after you reward yourself with something that you really like. That can be everything from watching an episode of your favorite Netflix show up to eating your favorite snack or just doing something you love. Doesn’t that sound good? And I think with the vision of our favorite things in mind, performing in the cold is directly better, isn’t it?
Now, I really hope that everyone has a good vision of our winter athletes’ performances and mental states. Also I would love to hear something from winter athletes using my mental tips and to all of you: Stay strong in the cold and dark season! We got this!