Have you ever stood at the top of a run frozen in place, heart pounding, knees shaking, body soaked in sweat, in full panic mode?
Trust me, you’re not alone. There isn’t a skier alive who hasn’t felt this way at one time or another.
Occasional fear is fine. It’s even healthy, since fear can prevent us from getting into things that are way over our heads. The problem is when fear takes control and causes us to lose confidence. When this happens, we have negative thoughts, which can lead to poor skiing, which can lead to more negative thoughts, which can lead to more poor skiing, until our confidence is so shot that we may not even want to ski anymore. We can have all the ability in the world, but if we don’t believe in ourselves, our performance is going to suffer.
Recently I spoke to Louise Pode and Kate Casali, two coaches from the UK who specialize in helping skiers cope with anxiety. With 25 years’ experience in a wide range of coaching disciplines, Louise has been working with nervous skiers since 2017. Kate is a Mindset Coach, with particular emphasis in women over forty. “It’s common to feel a dip in confidence once we hit that age,” she said. “Many of the women I work with tell me they wonder, ‘Where did my bold, fearless self go?’ It’s easy to feel frustrated or even anxious when that confidence seems out of reach — especially when it comes to activities we used to love, such as skiing.”
Louise and Kate both work with both men and women, though Kate believes the two genders have different responses to fear. “In my experience, women are much more likely to overthink, analyze, or imagine worst-case scenarios,” she said. “This means they tend to avoid taking risks, even when they have the skills. Men often approach fear differently, sometimes pushing themselves physically or downplaying their emotions, which can lead to burnout or injury. Neither approach is better or worse. It’s about recognizing how you respond to fear and learning to work with it rather than against it.”
The Coaching Process
Louise and Kate use similar techniques, which begin well before you click into your skis on the hill. “This way, you have the strategies you need to cope when you get there,” Louise said. “You won’t have the anxiety that keeps you from learning or enjoying your day.”
Louise provided some insight into her coaching process. In a nutshell, it involves four steps:
First, understanding your skiing journey. How did you get to this place emotionally, and what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to ski expert or intermediate terrain? Ride the chairlift without feeling afraid? Everyone has different goals, so you need to identify yours.
Second, exploring what anxiety looks like to you. What are the triggers, and where do they come from? What’s the first thing you notice and how does your fear manifest itself?
Third, exploring how you want to replace your anxiety. How do you want to feel? Do you want to feel calm, chilled, and happy? Or do you want to feel excited and confident? How do you take those emotions and use them in your skiing? “You see this in professional sports all the time,” said Louise. “For example, pro golfers will step into their circle of excellence before ever taking their first swing. They’re pulling in the emotions they need in that moment to maximize their performance.”
Finally, exploring how to change your mindset. Mindset determines your point of view. Positive mindsets allow you to step outside your comfort zone and navigate challenging situations. What do you need to do to change a negative mindset into a positive one?
A Few Quick Tips For Anxiety
Gaining confidence takes time and effort, but there are a few strategies you can use to deal with skier anxiety, courtesy of Kate and Louise.
Focus on your breathing: When fear kicks in, your body tends to tense up. Place your hands over your heart and take deep, slow breaths to help calm your nervous system.
Visualize success: Imagine yourself skiing with ease and confidence. Your brain starts to believe what you repeatedly visualize.
Challenge negative thoughts: Talk to yourself the way you’d like a good friend to talk to you. You want to focus on your strengths and instead of tearing yourself down, build yourself up. Just like negative thinking can bring you down, positive thinking can bring you up. It can lead to better skiing, which can lead to more positive thinking and even better skiing.
Start small: Build confidence incrementally. Choose an easier slope to get into your flow rather than throwing yourself straight into a challenge.
Louise adds another great tip: “Don’t push yourself. If you find you’re having a day when you really don’t want the pressure of skiing terrain that makes you uncomfortable, then don’t. You may find other friends who are happy to join you. Perhaps they were just looking for permission to take an easier day. Tell yourself it’s all right. Ski a bit, then go inside and have some coffee. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
And here’s an important tip from me: Ski to the level of your smile. It’s one thing to want to ski at a high level — and it’s great to ski with confidence — but you also want to ski with joy. After all, the bottom line is to have fun. Because that’s what skiing is all about.
You can find more info about Kate Casali here, and more info about Louise Pode here.
Related discussions
Read more discussions about dealing with fear in your skiing on The Ski Diva forums:
- Skiing, fear + mental blocks, and frustration
- “A Conversation with Fear” – impressions?
- Getting your mind back after a bad fall
- Feeling the Fear…
