With Trinity Hall's shift to remote learning due to COVID-19, it remains important to continue to deliver a program that supports our students in all respects. With the spring sports season on hold Trinity Hall Athletic Director Alison Le Vine Puglsey designed and implemented a program for our students and coaches that enables them to continue their comprehensive development.
"The total student-athlete development involves more than the physical, tactical and technical components of performance. When an athlete is asked to share what percentage of their performance depends on mindset, the response typically ranges from 80 - 100%. When asked how much time is dedicated to this part of their training, the percentage often falls below 25%." said Mrs. Pugsley. "The Student-Athlete Development workshops are about conditioning the mental side of athletics and discussing other areas of performance and personal development. Student-athletes and coaches engage in workshops on mental skills such as motivation, focus, composure, confidence and preparation. Just as you can improve your technical skills, you can work on your ability to cope with pressure, to increase your confidence, and to direct your focus on what's important now. Mental skills can be strengthened by implementing specific strategies in both practices and competitions."
After an introductory week, Trinity Hall Athletics refined the program to include team huddles, and even invited student-athletes and coaches from Christian Brothers Academy to participate. Mrs. Pugsley is a professional with significant experience in mental conditioning who has worked with athletes at all levels for well over a decade. Trinity Hall Student-Athlete Development workshops are optional and available to all Trinity Hall students interested in gaining skills that help optimize their performance and develop more resources for success. Coaches have been actively engaging in seminars discussing best practices in areas like building team culture, practice environment and effective communication.
"Developing the right mindset is about improving your performance and positively influencing your personal development.Through these student-athlete development sessions, coach seminars, and team huddles we will continue to achieve the core goal of so many athletes, to get better every day " said Mrs. Pugsley. "We know that playing sports teaches us life skills. Even if we are not playing sports in the traditional way right now there are so many ways student-athletes can continue to train those essential skills and impact their growth as an athlete, student and person. For example, in our goal setting workshop we discussed how goals provide confidence, motivation, purpose and direction to achieve our personal best. Feeling motivated and having a sense of purpose will not only help students achieve success in performance but will also provide direction in their current personal lives. The workshop ended with one goal each student-athlete could set at the start of each day during this time period. Ultimately, providing a sense of normalcy in training as a student-athlete with actual outcomes and progress is imperative during this time of uncertainty. If we can learn how to become better student-athletes as a whole, even when we are away from the field, when the time comes to return we will be ready to hit the ground running."
Students interested in participating in the Student-Athlete Development workshops can find the schedule here. Note that students do not have to be on an athletic team to benefit from the mental conditioning skill building.