I CAN HIT THAT.......I THINK?

I CAN HIT THAT…..I think!!

Confidence is fickle. Out riding one day and we feel we can conquer anything; no obstacle or feature is too big. Go out the next day and we fall or put a foot down riding over the smallest root or rock and suddenly we are in our head overthinking every feature.  We have all been in this position. We look at the feature, we may have even ridden the feature, we know we have the skill set, we watch others do it…. but something in our head says no. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Believe you can your halfway there” and that is true. If you don’t BELIEVE YOU CAN then you shouldn’t try. Anyone who has taken a clinic or camp with me has heard me say “live to fight another day” (or “not today Satan”) meaning know when to bail if you are not feeling it. But how do we battle those negative thoughts that erode confidence?? Gymnasts call this the twisties. We all watched Simone Biles get the twisties in the 2020 Summer Olympics (and came back and absolutely crushed it 2024). When we as riders get the twisties the first thing we should do is go back and practice the Core Skills required to ride the feature or maneuver. Let’s say it’s a giant, steep rock roller, practice the right body position (take a clinic and camp if you are unsure), dial in your trail braking, think about where you are looking, and absorb at the transition.

  Start small, working your way back up to larger features. Even if you have already conquered the large feature, if your confidence is shot, progression is a great way to build it back up. It also allows you to continue dialing in the core skills.  Utilize mental rehearsal (also called visualization). I prefer the term mental rehearsal as it reminds us that we are creating a detailed mental image of how we will successfully clean the feature. Again, using our rock roller example, imagine you’re starting at the top, visualize getting into the right position, see yourself modulating the brakes, tell yourself that if the back tire starts to skid you ease off the rear, visualize what will happen at the transition.  There is an old saying “I will believe when I see it.” I think that’s backwards, it should be “I will see it when I believe it.” Going back to the Theodore Roosevelt quote, he said by believing you can your halfway there…the other half is having the skill. We can help you with the skill portion – register for a clinic or camp today.

Let me know your questions or thoughts.

Patrick