Are you a "nervous nellie"?

Swimming World and Junior Swimmer, Mar 1999 by Baker, Nick

Do you ever get the JI1?... You know-that nervous feeling right before your race? Having the jitters makes you swim slow. That's because your mind and body feel really tense...and when you're tense, it's hard to swim fast! So, if you have the ^ who ya gonna call?

Pick out some of your favorite ir BU below. Give them a try at your next meet. They'll help take your mind off your aS, And that'll make it easier to swim fast!

Race for the fun of it! That's a great way to forget the jitters.

Try "shrinking your thinking." Think one length at a time. The less you have to think about, the less jittery you'll feel.

If thinking about winning gives thinking about swimming as fast ;axe as you can.

Imagine how your sw hero-like ny Thompson or josh

Set a goal for every of your race. Focusing on your goals helps keep your mind off your jitters.

If you feel less jittery in practice than you do at a meet, pretend you're swimming a repeat in practice instead of racing.

Racing against other people makes you feel jittery? Pretend you're the only swimmer in the pool. Look straight ahead and swim your own race.

Stand up to your jitters! The next time you feel jittery in a race, tell your jitters to "take a hike!"

If you start feeling jittery during a race, think ahead to the finish.

I Even if you feel jittery, act like you're not. It works

The next time you feel jittery in a race, remind yourself of all the great things you did in practice over the last couple of weeks or months.

Think stroke! Not only will this get your mind off your jitters, but it will help you focus on something that can make you swim faster.

Think "now"...not "then." Thinking back to the last time you swam your race can make you feel jittery, especially if you didn't swim well the last time you swam the same event.