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S1D is pleased to welcome our newest sponsor and team member: Reaching Ahead Counseling & Mental Performance
Honing Your Mental Game—Sailing is a unique sport with many facets. Success comes from overall training plan encompassing development of technical expertise, boat speed, strategy, boat handling, tactics, physical training, and mastery of the mental game. In interviews with Olympians, professionals, or other top athletes, successes or failures are often attributed to cognitive or emotional experiences. Elite sailors control as many controllables as possible, and yet, sometimes mental skills are sometimes left up to chance.
You wouldn’t go to a big regatta expecting to consistently go fast without having first worked on boatspeed. How could you expect mental consistency without having first trained the mind?
Training needs always vary from sailor to sailor, and the first step to honing any skill is too build awareness. Awareness in boatspeed could mean tuning into components of the experience like degree of heel. Likewise, noticing your thoughts moment to moment enables greater influence toward more consistently helpful thought patterns.
A good frame of mind can lead to time ‘in the zone’ (as media labels it) or experiencing ‘flow’ (as researchers call it). You can’t make a flow state occur, but you can set the stage such that falling into it becomes more likely. Understanding concepts and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses allows for a more intentional setting the stage. Skills that I often dive into with clients include the “Dirty Dozen”:  Knowing your Values, Understanding your Motivation, Engaging SMART Process Goals, Building Self-Talk Habits, Developing Mindful Routines, Utilize Mental Imagery, Tuning Into YOU, Hanging in there with Anxiety, Assertive Communication, Channeling Emotions, Persevering with Energy Management, and Reducing Anxiety.
Winning events or medals are obvious carrots to chase after, but thinking about trying to win (or dwelling on fear of bad performance) usually has nothing to do with tasks at hand (like observing sail shape or having a solid tack). I often work with athletes on setting goals centered on processes in the NOW. Similarly, our brains are often filled with chatter that is adaptive or maladaptive. At times when thoughts are actually helpful, it’s akin to riding a good wave- you want to allow it for as long as possible. But when thoughts are maladaptive, it is like Laser sailing in the trough of a wave that is sending you into a pitchpole; that wave needs to be rolled! I work with athletes on rolling past less helpful thoughts, sometimes with hard counters, and more often utilizing mindfulness techniques.
An athlete’s energy management is influenced by some of these same factors, plus lifestyle choices, and through psychophysiological techniques like developing an optimally paced breath. This makes a difference on and off the water, especially in the midst of stressful tactical situations. Energy management techniques can also contribute to more flexible attention. Demonstrating that we usually can’t “control” attention, I often tell sailors “don’t think about pink elephants.” Close your eyes for 10 seconds and try it. Your brain is likely already filled with pink elephants. We might not be able to control attention, but we can be mindful about steering it directions that are more helpful, creating attention habits through good routines. Mental (movement-focused) imagery can be a useful to sailors and other athletes across situations such as: preparing for certain regatta sites, honing a boat handling skill, spontaneous usage on or off the race course, or by combining it with traditional coaching techniques such as video analysis.
With coaches and others, I often work on good communication skills. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a pre-requisite for teams to get along socially. “Task cohesion” is much more important than “social cohesion.” Sailors need to know that they can count on important people like their coaches or their crew. And when everything else (including trust) is in place, good social relationships can add a synergy to the package. It makes the experience fun and can fuel motivation. Whether communicating task needs or social needs, learning a balance between a directive and collaborative style can make all the difference and making sure that the other person feels heard. Cliché, but true, we have two ears and one mouth for a reason!
Formats for the work I do with sailors and athletes can vary. Ideal training can involve ongoing individual consultation for coaches and/or sailors, and can incorporate in-person meetings for teams. Check out my new mental training programs for junior sailors, adults, and coaches!
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Dr. Tim Herzog’s practice, Reaching Ahead Counseling and Mental Performance, is located in Annapolis, Maryland.  An avid sailor himself, Tim moved back east 4 years ago from Bozeman, Montana, in order to be on the water and involved with sailing again.  Tim combines a background of academic rigor (2 Masters and a Doctorate) with practical sailing (4^th at J70 Mindwinters, 2016) and coaching experience (former Head Coach at Boston College, 5^th at Dinghy Nationals + 4 All-American Honors).  He enjoys working with sailors on the mental game, and helping athletes to surpass whatever barriers to performance.

From Yale Sailing Coach Bill Healy:
I’m trying to find the original US I420 perpetual national championship trophy. I have a not so great photo of it attached here. It’s a wire outline of two 420’s Sailing upwind. When the class went dormant here in the US the trophy was lost and forgotten about. With the class making a little bit of a comeback it would be nice to keep awarding it. I think there are some famous names on there; Benjamin, Reeser, Hutchinson.
If you have any information leading to the discovery of this trophy, please EMAIL US!

Founded in 2007 to serve the urban community, Hudson River Community Sailingpartners with public schools to offer credit-bearing academic programs, internships, mentoring, and college readiness. Our youth development platform uses sailing, boat operation, and boat building to further academic skills and instill the qualities of character necessary for college and career success. We also serve the broader community through affordable marine education and recreation for individuals, groups, schools, businesses, and families.
Hudson River Community Sailing develops leadership and academic success in underserved New York City youth through sailing education and provides maritime education and recreation to the community at large.
Hudson River Community Sailing is hiring: Teach Sailing in New York City! Spring/ Summer 2018
Adult sailing instructors teach sailing to adults aboard our J24 sailboats in New York Harbor. There is a lot of boat traffic and fast currents. The stress is on student participation and student-focused learning. All of our sails are hands-on, and the typical student has zero sailing experience. Your interpersonal skills will be as valuable as your sailing skills.

HRCS believes everyone can learn to sail, and that sailing provides a unique opportunity for growth and discovery. We use sailing to fulfill our mission: developing leadership and academic success in underserved New York City youth, and providing maritime education to the city at large. We do this within a vibrant community sailing center, where we offer professional instruction, membership, veterans courses, summer camp, group and corporate events, and community regattas.