Myth #1(Mother Nature killed the sport of ski jumping) Debunked

Myth #2(NCAA killed the sport of ski jumping) Debunked Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Myth #3(The US doesn't have the talent) Debunked Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Mind Of A Ski Jumper Part 1, 2, 3, 4

The Ultimate Coach - Ski Jump Training Device

Jumping Season Digest: (see bottom of this page)

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Myth #3 Debunked: Part 7

Now that you have written down your problems you need to move on to Step 2:
 
Step 2: When did the problem first appear?
 
Stop back and think back to when the problem first appeared.  This is very important.  It can narrow down your search for what is causing the problem to occur.  Look in your jumping journal, talk with your coach, talk with other jumpers, do whatever it takes to try your hardest to pinpoint when the problem first started to appear.  Again, we are looking at recurring problems not something that you are just starting to learn right now.
 
The thing you need to realize is that when a problem creeps up is more than likely when something happened in your life.  This life moment can effect anything that you do, including how you feel.  It may now be effecting your jumping performance.  By narrowing down when the problem with your jumping first started you can use this information to help you with Step 3.
 
Write down when you first noticed the problem then move onto Step 3.
 
Step 3: What was going on in your life when the problem first appeared?
 
Look at all aspects of your life, from school, to home, to the hill.  Write down what was going on when the problem first appeared.  What you are looking for is any kind of stress, anxiety, guilt, criticism, etc.  During this time period you may have had a bad crash or saw someone else have a bad crash.  It could have been something that someone said to you or that you overheard.  It could be from pressure from things going on at home.  The number of things that can influence your jumping performance is absolutely mindboggling..
 
Stress and anxiety can cause so many problems in life.  You would truly be surprised by the sure nature of the power of stress.  In three days I will give a link to an article about a woman that had been suffering from hip pain, at times extreme pain.  It turns out her pain was caused by anxiety that she had 15 years ago when her husband got laid off from his job.  Like I said the mind can do amazing things to the body.  The mind can be negatively influenced one way when your young and then when you get yourself into a similiar situation later on in life you will find yourself caught up in self-sabotage.  It has did that with me ever since I used to swim competitvely as a kid.  Now when I get into competitive situations I choke.  It's totally irrational but the subconscious mind doesn't realize that.  My jumping has been hampered ever since I started jumping due to the competitive environment that abounds in ski jumping.
 
Guilt and criticism can have the same results as stress and anxiety.  The different ways in which your jumping can be influenced is almost impossible to count.  The key point is to try to figure out what it is that is causing the problem to occur.  This can, potentially, save a lot of time when we go to neutralize the issue that is causing you to have problems with your jumping.
 
You may not be able to come up with anything to write down in step 2 or 3.  It may not be easy to pin point when the problem started.  This will make it hard to tell what might have caused the problem.  This isn't a problem.  You can still use the rest of the method I'm teaching you,  More than likely it will take longer to sovle the problem since you will have to use the technique to dig through the mind to find out what is really the issue that is holding you back.
 
Tomorrow, you will check to see if this really is what is influencing your jumping problem.
 
Until next time
Keep the ski tips up,
Crash

Jumping Journal: February 16, 2006

Day 39.  A perfect game.  Okay, so this is ski jumping not bowling.  Would tonight be the night that I would hit 300 jumps for the winter, I only needed eight to make it.
 
I started the evening by changing ski after changing boots this morning, unexpectedly.  I had sent out an email last night after getting home to ask Ron if I could swap out the boots for the bigger boots that I would have to change bindings to be able to use.  Cannonball had adjustable bindings that would work with the boots that fit much better than the ones I wore last night.  I figured I would end up grabbing the boots tomorrow night when I see at the high school state meet.  He stopped by the house this morning to drop them off on his way to Mount Sunapee for the high school alpine state meet.  Mount Sunapee is around 1.5 miles from my house.
 
I ended up changing skis for the evening to a pair of 258 Elans than already had the adjustable bindings on them.  After adjusting the bindings and putting on the bibs I headed on up the jump.  I knew I was going to be a little cautious on the first jump since I didn't know how long it had been since the skis had any wax put on them.
 
I started down the inrun on the warm, around 50 degree, evening.  I did stick in one spot about a quarter of the way down the inrun.  The first jump was otherwise smooth.  It wasn't the greatest since I was still being cautious.
 
I headed up for jump two and it went much better.  Jump three was better yet.  By jump four I was starting to really notice the ski tips while jumping, rather unusual for me to notice to the tips.  They never come up that much.
 
Jump five seemed like I might have actually been a lot less bent at the waist compared to normal.  It wasn't videoed though like the last three jumps would be videoed.  I actually was thinking that I would be lucky to get five jumps in since I started halfways late due to the equipment changes.
 
I got lucky and headed on up for jump six.  It didn't seem quite as nice as the one before it.  I could even feel that it wasn't as good.  Jump seven was better and I still wasn't being pulled off the hill so I said the heck with it and headed on up for jump eight, the 300th jump of the winter.  It was pretty decent as well.  I keep stopping the forward motion though.
 
After jumping I got talking with Sam Burke, former World Junior Olympic participant and he helped me to better understand what I was doing.  Now I will work with the psychological side of what he was suggesting and see if I can't stop myself from stopping the forward motion once I jump.  I shall be reporting on this in the next several days.  I'll see if my idea works or not.  I tend to think I will know if it works.
 
Crash
Winter 2010
DateLeb 25Plymouth 25Leb 50And 38
Dec 121
Jan 056
Jan 063
Feb 024
Feb 032
Feb 046
Feb 073
Mar 063
Totals133102