What was practice and training had become pleasurable and confident. The 'real' event had become unsure and reluctant. It was as if a schizoid atmosphere had embraced the athletes. I watched more closely at their body/eye cues and compared the two disparate venues. Given my limited observations I began to prepare a new way to train them, using the following devices:

1. When they did their training they would, at specific times, when the conditioning exercise came closest to their 'real' event, image the event at they did the training. An Example. A shot putter who 'puts' (a throw push) a heavy metal ball would image this while pushing a barbell or a medicine ball in the exercise. I would often ask them to exhibit similar sounds (a yell, loud groan) similar to when they did the real event. In the event training, as in throwing the shot put, I would cue them, at specific lowered arousal times, how what they were doing, in specific terms, matched what they did in the prep work. This is a form of parallel chunking and reframing but the emphasis, cued by my own posture and voice would emphasize that the goal was to 'throw' far which would occur at anytime soon. My verbal and body cues always matched what I would use in the actual event practice. I would raise my arms and shout FAR!
2. They would not be allowed to throw their limit in practice and must stay within proscribed ranges low to high until a specific time just days before a championship. (This created a paradoxical effect that a long throw might accidentally 'pop out' without effort to do so and that lower performance meant that a higher one would follow.) This often built up a developing positive anxiety which would be released in the 'real' competition. I would adjust the range upward as the throws approached the higher range indicator in greater numbers. That release would bring a wave of excitement and pleasure at being successful which would reinforce the competition environment in learning. Remembering that high level competition and performance of any sort is a skill with a particular mind set. Practice also has its own mind set and skill. The 'range' widened their expectant focus and allowed them to accept lesser throws with the higher, lowering their arousal.

3. I rarely if ever measured a practice throw, emphasizing the work done and the goals of the practice. I would constantly link an improvement I noted, with a presupposition of a further effort in 'real' competition. The links were always to a future competition, which was then linked with another.

Here is a presupposition for an athlete that whose longest throw is 180' in the hammer (about 54 meters)

"Good you're getting more in that range. That shows the jump will come anytime now so you must be prepared for it! We'll probably move your range up 3 meters on Thursday (pacing forward). When you're at 200 feet you will begin to note that your hammer in the back (he's never done this it is a result) this will keep you in contact with the ball better. You will love the feeling (I demonstrate the position) (future pacing) as the hammer throws itself. Your range will probably move up to 10 feet in practice so, save your energy for then." (Throw what you have been doing at an easier effort and arousal level.)

4. Do NOT explain what is happening. Let it happen. The student or athlete does not need to intellectualize the event, just do it. A former world record holder in the Javelin, Al Cantello, once said to me, "Analysis leads to paralysis!" Explanation takes away from the excitement of learning. It becomes a "it's just." IT'S NOT, 'it' for the doer is SPECIAL and you can link that feeling to future results.