pro slalom secrets
The Mind Game

The fastest guy in the world without the right mindset will never be able to win. A slower guy with just the right mental attitude will always finish first. Why is that? Strangely enough you can train as much as you want, but if your mind doesn't follow, all of that time spent training could be for no use. But don't worry, its not all lost. You can tune your mental attitude just like you can your gear...
Kurosh Kiani (DEN-13) invites you to sit on his couch

Mental preparation has always been close to me as I've not always been the strongest at mind games. I could train for months with no results, but with just a small adjustment in my way of thinking I could move up to levels that otherwise would seem hard to reach.

Prepare Your Mind
Countless books are written about this subject, but if you're short on time and just need practical tips, the plot is always the same - concentrate on how you want things to be instead of being distracted by what you don't want to happen. It's a simple exercise, but after a while it's worth every bit of effort and thought you put into your goals.

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Take for instance the start and the first gybe. Surely you want to have the best start and you want to either be first at the gybe mark or be overtaking? This is where the visualization come in. Take a little time out now and then and try to visualize how your perfect start will be, and when you have thought that through enough times changes will start to happen and when rehearsing it even more on the water you are good to go for a real race. Believe me - this stuff works.

The key here is to train your mind only to think fairly simply and to take quick but positive decisions, because we're talking split seconds on the course, so there's no time for you to think about what you are afraid of happening because then it will have happened by then already. You'll naturally gravitate towards a negative outcome rather than a positive result.

Think back in time. I bet just before you were about to buy a car once you started seeing more and more of them on the streets - because you'd started taking notice. The same thing's happening out on the water. So keep you mind focused on this track, the target you have in mind, and you will see changes. Close Story