Adjusting to change

Written by:  Athlete Life Advisor and ex athlete Julie Jorgensen

19 February 2013

There is a great deal of change going on in sport at present.  Sports have been presented with their investment for the next 4 years, and we are seeing a number of sports relocating to different towns with Triathlon and Bike both moving to Cambridge.  The implications that this has on athletes has highlighted the level of adjustment athletes are needing to face, and presents a reminder that any big changes in life do require conscious thought processes to determine how we react to these changes.  

The change could be a permanent one, short term transition, voluntary or involuntary.  

Common changes you might face on a shorter term basis include:
– Relocating to a different town, training venue or country
– Academic Transition from one institution to another
– Squad Change (junior to senior squad, different franchise, or team)
– Refocus/Redirection
– Overseas Scholarships
– Illness or Injury
– De-selection and then re-selection
– Having a dual career

So how do we face these changes, and pop out the other side better as not just an athlete but also as a person?  The skills you learn as an athlete provide you with a good grounding for coping with changes on a daily basis on life including personal relationships, career, employment or job changes or financial situations, stress.

There are a bunch of thoughts and processes you might be going through including:

• Not easily being able to identify the support available to you and who you can talk to (family, social and peer support)
• Finding it hard to acknowledge that you might need time to adjust to the impending changes
• You might experience any of the following (sense of loss, anger, grief, depression, frustration and self esteem) - grief cycle
• You might experience feeling disconnected, lonely, a loss of identity, friendships or a fear of failure
• You might have a sense of feeling like you are no longer in control of your future (new goals, focus and expectations)
• You might want to keep the changes to yourself with a sense of pride or not wanting to admit how you are feeling to others

There are a number of really positive things that can come out of change including:

1. Improved self identity and self awareness
2. Increased mental skill and toughness
3. Increase in motivation
4. Better skills in time and stress management
5. Personal growth and development

As an athlete I went through many changes with numerous different coaches, selection and non-selection, injury and after a sporting career of over 10 years then retirement.  I learnt as an athlete to always focus on the end goal and not get too caught up in changes that I couldn't control, but at the time I remember feeling pretty angry and frustrated about some of the changes that occurred that I didn't agree with!  

Since retiring as an athlete I've transitioned from having a career and then to being a Mum and part time career.  On top of that we've relocated from Auckland to Christchurch and lived through the numerous Christchurch quakes!

One of the key points I've learnt is around determining what you can control.  Kids has been a great reality check in that department.  You can't control having a complete lack of sleep for 6 months or more, no matter how hard I've tried.  The only thing I can control is how I adapt to the changes I'm faced with.  

So these are the steps I try to follow for myself:

1. Allow yourself a bit of time to freak out, get frustrated, and rant and rave to loved ones

2. Then step back and take in all the facts

3. Determine how you want to respond and what your end goal is

4. When responding, consider what YOU can control, focus on this

5. Provide feedback that is constructive and provides solutions to the changes

6. Look at positive opportunities that come out of impact of change

Example: 12.51pm 22nd February 2011

1. Earthquake hits - scream a little, pick up newborn baby and dive under the table, freak out, and go into a bit of shock
2. Determine family are safe, assess mess and damage

3. Decide to clean up mess, stay strong and get on with life

4. Realise I can't impact on after shocks coming, can only deal with them

5. Decide to get away, so head to Auckland with kids for a month. 

Other example: Potential job change presented to me

1.  Find out proposed changes, self esteem takes a dive and then frustration sets in

2. Start looking at impact of change, what it means

3. Consider what my options are and put together alternate suggestions

4. Give feedback on job change and then accept it is now outside my control

5. Look at the positives that might come out of it - other opportunities

CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

USE YOUR SUPPORT NETWORK AROUND YOU

ACCEPT THAT YOUR CONFIDENCE OR SELF ESTEEM MIGHT TAKE A SHORT TERM HIT

LOOK AT POSITIVE OPPORTUNITIES THAT MIGHT EXIST FROM CHANGES

Change is hard, and sustaining it in the long term is even harder.  Use the skills you use as an athlete when training, creating new hope, new thinking and new skills.  Surround yourself with people that can support you in these areas.

Energy management is key during change.  Establishing rituals and routines (your recovery) is just as important as what you actually do - the same as when you are training.

For help, tools or guidance with any changes you might be going through, contact your Athlete Life Advisor.

Athlete Transfers - How Rower turned Track Cyclist Jaime Nielsen made the switch…

Athlete Transfer Programme

17 February 2013


High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) has recently set up a National Athlete Transfer System which provides support for athletes capable of winning an Olympic medal in a new sport. HPSNZ believes that there is now sufficient evidence showing that athletes can progress in a new sport in a significantly shorter timeframe. This is because athletes can transfer some of the physical and mental skills, physiological attributes, and training ethic already acquired.
Athletes who are between 16-28 years of age and meet a number of criteria can complete an expression of interest to be assessed.  See here for more details The programme is being coordinated by ex-Olympic 5000m runner Adrian Blincoe who emphasises that the programme is athlete-driven and born out of national sport organisations (NSOs) identifying gaps in their pathways. This system is just one way to help fill those gaps but does not replace the NSO-led talent identification and development programmes. “Part of my role is to meet with interested athletes, coordinate with providers for testing and liaise with the national sport organisations,” Adrian says.  The overall goal of the programme is to help facilitate transfers and have a positive impact on results in 2020.
 
A number of athletes have transferred previously from one sport to another and achieved great results, including mountain runner turned triathlete Kate McIlroy, netballer turned cyclist Alison Shanks, and rower turned cyclist Jaime Nielsen. In a short space of time, Nielsen has gone on to finish fifth in the Team Pursuit at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Athlete Transfer - How Rower turned Track Cyclist Jaime Nielsen made the switch… 

As a 22 year old Jaime Nielsen was showing promise as an Olympic rower, finishing first in the U23 World Rowing Championships as part of the women’s quad boat.   As a rower, Jaime was training in multiple ways, and training on the bike was a good variation to the many hours spent on the water.

The opportunity to transfer came up when BikeNZ was running a programme called Power to the Podium, identifying potential athletes. Even though Jaime had done a little cycling at high school, she had never considered she would one day be representing New Zealand at the Olympics on a bike. “I did a few duathlons in my school years and was always strong on the bike, with good leg strength but I didn’t ever consider cycling as I was so committed to rowing,’’ she explains.

In 2009, Jaime competed in the Elite Track Cycling Nationals, just two weeks after her last rowing nationals.  “I wouldn’t have been able to give track cycling a go without BikeNZ’s Power to the Podium programme”. I had seen track cycling on the TV but hadn’t considered it a sport you can just rock up and try as it required specialised equipment.”

Nielsen was fortunate to be supported by a number of people during her transfer including another former rower, Sonia Waddell, and Coach Dayle Cheatley.  Sonia was getting into cycling at a similar time to Jaime so they joined each other in training and were able to compare experiences.  “Dayle introduced me to the track with so much enthusiasm and he was so encouraging and positive, setting goals and challenging me along the way. It was really rewarding when I learned something new or made improvements,” she says.

“The first time I got kitted out in an aero helmet, skin suit, racing bike with disc wheels and did a ‘proper’ Team Pursuit with the girls, I remember following the more experienced riders around the tight corners of the track and trying to copy the way they would sink low into the corners and hug the black line. It was awesome to learn like this,” Jaime comments. “It was so much fun and the athletes and staff from BikeNZ were really encouraging.”

Although the sports are not too dissimilar physically, her body still needed to get used to sitting on a bike for extended periods of time.  “I had to get to know how to train as a cyclist, it definitely helped talking with others already established in the sport,” she says. The switch meant Jaime had to have plenty of perseverance to learn how to train in a different sport, be open-minded to new ideas and accept that there were going to be plenty of mistakes made along the way.  Even the coaching approach was different.  “I was used to rowing where coaches would be out on the water and basically dictate the session,’’ she says.  “In track cycling, coaches are there when we are on the track leading up to a competition, but away from the track it is much harder.  Most of my training is at home by myself, where programmes are sent by email, but it is up to me to organise my days to get the training completed,” she says.

“The cycling environment has given me the self-discipline to go out training by myself and push my limits day after day, and I’ve got to know myself better and develop some intuition,” she says.

“You have to be honest with yourself, whether you have put in enough training each day, what you could do better and you have to try to look at situations objectively.”

Jaime’s advice to other athletes considering a transfer:

• You have to be open-minded and set no limits for yourself.

• Learn from the people in the sport around you, and enjoy it.

• Be willing to experiment and not always succeed, in order to learn.

• Have patience and perseverance.

Coachable? Coachability? Coaching?

Coachable?  Coachability?  Coaching? 

17 February 2013

What do these words mean and who do they relate to?  We think of being coachable as someone who is committed to their own development, looks for feedback from others and is open to anything that may help them improve.  It can also mean being able to be coached effectively.  Whatever it is that we are trying to achieve, whether that be in sport, business, a hobby or personal interest, aren’t we all trying to be coachable?
Late last year the HPSNZ Athlete Life Team and the Coach Performance Team ran a workshop to help athletes get the most out of their coaching and learn how to be a more ‘coachable’ athlete.
The workshop was facilitated by Athlete Life Advisor Helene Wilson, who as well as working at HPSNZ is also a netball coach, and until recently was Coach of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball Team.  From her years of experience in coaching, she recommends that athletes need to be open to change even though change can be hard.  “Be prepared to go outside your comfort zone.  My philosophy as a coach has always been to make athletes better tomorrow at the things they can do today,” she says. 

The skills that came out of the workshop were fundamental skills that can be used in day to day relationships, whether that’s between an athlete and coach, or applied more broadly to professional and personal relationships. 

All of us are often so busy running hectic lives - or in the case of athletes their training and competition schedules – that it is difficult to stop and take a step back and consider how we are functioning and operating.

Being Coachable:
TRUST in EACH OTHER
Have OPEN and HONEST communication
Clear EXPECTATIONS of each other

Tristan Collins from the Coach Performance Team says: ``The workshop gave the athletes a clear view of the fact that while there is more than one way for an athlete-coach relationship to work, there are some common factors. Most powerful of these is trust and the clear understanding that with it most things are possible and without it, the chances are that some aspect of performance is being compromised.
``The interesting thing on the night was how quickly the athletes came to the realisation that they have a huge part to play in making the relationship work. They can be respectful, but they can't be passive -- they have to be prepared to be honest about how things are working for them. These were some genuinely engaged athletes which is a credit to them, and more than likely a credit to their coaches,’’ he says.

During the workshop, athletes shared their personal experiences of being coached and also heard from a number of top athletes and their coaches about the athlete-coach relationship.

Multiple Paralympic gold medallist Sophie Pascoe was interviewed on the success of her relationship with her Swim Coach Roly Crichton, and commented on the importance of the coach and athlete being on the same path with the coach 100 percent dedicated to helping the athlete achieve their goals.  “Communication has to be good - you can argue or disagree but you have to be able to move on,” she says.  Roly says that self-responsibility is key.  “Athletes must be on time and prepared for every session to do the job.”

Other words of inspiration and wisdom that came from coaches and athletes included:
- Both the athlete and coach can bring ideas to the table so both have to have an open mind
- An athlete needs to have the right attitude, self-belief and drive to be able to do what’s needed as their coach can’t always be there
- Training might not always be enjoyable but maybe that is what is needed to be successful
- There must be clear expectations between the athlete and coach, and these need to be established at the beginning
- Being open and honest is very important, even if an athlete knows their coach might not like it
- Athletes need to be open to learning and understand why a coach does what they do
- Coaches often want to know an athlete as a whole person (in and out of sport) so they can provide the best possible coaching to that athlete

The Joys and Frustrations of your Computer

Use your computer to be more efficient, not less! Here's how...

(Julie Jorgensen, Athlete Life Advisor HPSNZ)

I was at work today when a colleague got close to throwing his computer out the window due to frustrations at not being able to get it to do what he wanted.  Can you relate?  Whether it is your computer, phone, or some other technical device, we've all had those window throwing thoughts at some stage or other.  So how can we minimise that, and get our computers, iphones and the like working for us?

Here are a few general computer/phone ideas:

• Try setting up a good filing system for your photos so they are easy to find. (Use folders and sub folders that are dated).  
• Make sure your address book is current, and you delete details that no longer work (still getting bounce backs from someone you have emailed 5 times?)
• When you write a letter or document save the file with the name of the person and the date (IE letter John Smith 10Feb10) so it is really easy to find later.  This is especially useful when you are liaising with people for whom you might need to reference back later.
• Back up your files on a certain date (ie 1st of the month)
• Alerts that pop up on your phone are great for keeping up to speed with what is coming in, but it can mean you never get away from it and some downtime is always good
• Every few months (or years) go through your computer and get rid of all those old files, draft files and versions 1, 2 and 3 of the same thing that you don't need any more

What about when it crashes?

Okay, so you are in the middle of a document that you've been working on for ages when it freezes - HELP!
First of all, remember to save on a regular basis (great advice after it's already crashed)

Second, try CTRL+A (select your whole document), then copy and paste it into a new document, then SAVE.  Sometimes this will fix the glitch.
Third, before your rush to call IT Help or a friend, shut it down, restart and try again (9 times out of 10 this works)

Fourth, if you are working with a large document - be patient, your computer can't always keep up (as I found out today!)

What about email?  

How quickly do you think people expect a response to an email?  Well ideally within 24 hours but this isn't always realistic.  If someone emails you with a request, you can always send a quick reply letting them know you got their email, can't get back to them today, but will respond within a certain time frame.  People often create a perception of ones reliability, professionalism and communication based on the response time to things like phone calls, emails and text messages so it is worth considering how you want to operate and what is practical given your situation.  Also consider whether your response time is the same for personal v professional emails? 

How fast should you reply?

The downside to this, is that you don't want to let your life be dictated by email, text and phones.  How often are you mid conversation with someone who gets a beep on their phone and HAS to check it?  Have you been known to do this yourself?  Or do you find yourself reading the same email in your inbox 4 or 5 times before you respond to it?  Not great efficiency! 

Outlook refers to the Four D's in their suggestions for Email efficiency:

1. Delete it

2. Do it

3. Delegate it

4. Defer it
Click here for the full explanation

So don't forget to delete emails that you don't need to keep, reply as quickly as possible or let people know when you can respond BUT don't let you life be ruled by email - you don't have to jump every time it beeps!

Good luck!