As mere mortals, we frequently tend to imagine that medal profitable athletes have all of it found out and that, someway, the fame and fortune and the adulation of the group makes them full. Matt Anderson, who’s an Olympic bronze medal volleyball participant and regarded to be the most effective on the earth at his craft is aware of that this isn’t all the time the case, and is right here to inform you that everybody can endure self-doubt, despair, and nervousness even when issues are trying effective and dandy to these on the skin.
M&F sat down with Matt Anderson for a frank and courageous dialogue concerning the psychological challenges that he’s confronted in his stellar profession, and we got here away with some helpful ideas for the way anybody, at any degree of sport, can study the identical classes that he has.
Matt Anderson is on the boys’s indoor volleyball squad for Staff USA. He’s a three-time Olympian and took residence a bronze medal on the 2016 video games in Rio de Janeiro. Earlier than that, Anderson was a 2015 World Cup winner, and he’s additionally loved victory in a number of CEV Championship League finals all through his profession.
Success got here comparatively shortly for Anderson, who was scouted for the boys’s U.S. nationwide crew throughout his time at West Seneca West Senior Excessive Faculty in upstate New York. He educated exhausting, and by the point he reached his second yr, Matt Anderson had picked up knowledgeable provide and signed a contract with the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers within the Korean League. What adopted was a whirlwind of intense play and journey. Not solely did he dwell in South Korea, however he additionally frolicked enjoying in Italy earlier than volleying the ball over in Russia.
All of it sounds just like the profession of an athlete that has the world at his toes and, for essentially the most half, that’s true, however similar to the remainder of us; unfavorable ideas can threaten the possibilities of us reaching our full potential. Having moved to Russia, the place his membership gained a bronze medal in that nations Championship, he was additionally named MVP within the Russian League, however, with all of that success, 2014 proved to be a troublesome yr as Matt Anderson felt on the time that he had underperformed. This may be the yr that the participant wanted to placed on the brakes for the sake of his psychological state.
“I felt loads of stress actually residing on me,” says Anderson. “I used to be actually the all-star of the crew and arguably enjoying my finest volleyball on the time, too,” he says with the advantage of hindsight. However the back-to-back competitions and the fixed journey ever since first beginning out with Staff USA in 2009 had lastly taken its toll. “I’d go to the fitness center, and I’d simply take into consideration residence,” he remembers.
Then, when Anderson lastly did get residence, he admits that he turned ashamed of himself as a result of he felt like he hadn’t given his all on the courtroom. These damaging emotions, coupled with the truth that he was nonetheless attempting to course of the loss of life of his father in 2010, meant that the participant had rather a lot to unpack, and wanted a while and area to lastly do the work for his personal wellbeing’s sake.
Luckily, after a number of weeks of digging deep inside himself, Anderson was again on the courtroom earlier than the top of the identical yr that he’d left, in 2014, and though he’s nonetheless engaged on his psychological well being to this present day, the favored participant is again to his medal profitable finest. Listed here are three essential ideas that assist Anderson to persistently preserve his head within the recreation:
1. Making Errors Is Half Of The Course of
An skilled athlete should come to phrases with the errors and exhausting realities of defeat however happily, these negatives will be become positives. “Even on the highest of my accolades as a participant, I nonetheless wrestle with confidence,” shares Anderson. “I feel that’s a part of the perfectionist mindset that I’ve, and I’m all the time specializing in what I did fallacious versus what I did proper.” The Olympian says that being a profitable volleyball participant provides him confidence when getting into a room so when issues don’t go nicely on the courtroom, he takes it exhausting and it impacts his very identification as an individual. However he’s additionally realized methods to cope with sporting losses. Anderson says that with each loss comes knowledge and an opportunity to pause, mirror, and glean details about the place issues went fallacious, so that he doesn’t make the identical errors once more.
2. Keep Constant By Embracing Change
Athletes discuss incessantly about retaining their coaching constant, and this implies sticking to an iron clad routine, however regardless of who we’re, getting older will carry change. Now aged 36, and with a spouse and two youngsters (aged 3 and 1), Anderson is aware of that his days can not revolve round simply his personal wants. In consequence, he’s tailored his schedule to get essentially the most that he can from each sports activities and household.
Now coaching for the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games, Anderson, and different members of his crew with the identical tasks, are being supported by their coaches to fulfill a number of time calls for. This permits gamers to assault coaching with the extreme vitality and motivation required to carry out on the highest degree with out feeling underneath stress to offer extra time to their households.
“Our teaching workers was onboard with giving us one large coaching (session every day) in order that the fellows who do have households will be with them,” shares Anderson. This can be a break from custom, the place gamers would beforehand have accomplished two coaching periods per day.
Now, the champion volleyballer has his head nicely and really within the recreation because of the tradition of embracing change, and remains to be placing in 100% of the work required. Anderson explains to M&F that he’s on the courtroom for round 9am, however earlier than that he hits the fitness center at 7.30 a.m. to offer himself a very good warmup, going by way of any stretching and mobility work which may be required to organize him for the day. He leaves the courtroom at round 12pm however hits the fitness center as soon as once more for at the very least an additional hour as a way to carry weights. Embracing change is a good way to forge reasonable routines that may be adhered to in the long run. “I additionally attempt to sneak in some date nights with my spouse once in a while,” says the balanced athlete.
3. Don’t Overthink (Defend Your Circle)
As a perfectionist and an overthinker, Anderson, similar to many people, will be the sufferer of overthinking. After we fail to only “go for it” our fixed questioning of ourselves can result in micro-adjustments that derail our efficiency. That is one thing that Anderson has struggled with prior to now, and has a way that will are available helpful as taught to him by the late, nice, sports activities psychologist, Dr. Ken Ravizza.
“He talked rather a lot with (psychological) photos,” shares Anderson, who says that Ravizza spoke of the sector of play as a circle and that overthinking creates a distracting mound throughout the circle. Anderson goes on to clarify that with this psychological train, you may embrace overthinking every time you might be outdoors of the circle, however as soon as inside it you have to depart these pointless ideas on the skin, the place they belong. “Don’t carry your s**t into the circle,” Ravizza advised Anderson. It was a lightweight hearted manner of constructing an essential level and it nonetheless massively helps the participant to this present day. Maybe the following pointers could possibly be helpful to you too.
