Beyond Blues: the psychology of grit
Alice White (in 6 position, arms aloft) with Claire Lambe (second from left in sunglasses). Claire did an MPhil at Homerton in Sustainable Engineering in 2016-17, and is now Women in Sport Lead for Rowing Ireland.
Aside from big thighs and too much Lycra in my drawers, I have few reminders of a decade-long rowing career. But now, as a PhD student in Clinical Neuroscience at Homerton College, the pandemic has prompted more introspection. I realise that rowing has left me with psychological souvenirs which I’ve come to rely on.
Elite athletes use sports psychologists regularly. ‘Grit’ can be the difference between a podium place and failure to be selected in a crew: the mind must be trained as well as the body. I worked with several psychologists to improve my mental fortitude in training and competition, but two in particular left me with mantras to serve a much wider context.
“Stay Centred” was a piece of advice given by Dr Lenny Wiersma. Lenny was the psychologist for USA Swimming when he started to work with the UCLA Women’s Rowing Team of which I was a part in 2015. We had failed to qualify for the National Championships in the previous spring and expectations for the upcoming season were low.
Lenny presented us with a picture of a fuel gauge. I felt smug, having long understood that our bodies and brains require optimised food for optimal performance. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t express a snort, because this wasn’t about food-as-fuel, it turned out. He went on to explain that winning requires a very particular mental position, and it wasn’t on the ‘high’ end of the gauge. On the left of the fuel gauge is where we feel like losers, with legs and lungs on fire and still in last position. On the right hand side is the feeling of elation that comes with being lengths ahead in a race. Neither of these states support optimal performance and instead we must “stay centred”.
This story would be more convincing if my team, inspired by Lenny’s fuel gauge metaphor, had gone on to qualify for and win the National Championships that season, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We ended that spring with a similar ranking to the previous year. Lenny had, however, left me with advice to serve my recovery from numerous rejections and victories, both on and off the river. In 2017, I was initially rejected by my PhD programme and funding bodies, later to be accepted days before the start date. This came alongside a bout of glandular fever in the months leading up to a Boat Race and the decision to turn down a National Team trial.
Dr Kate Hays, Head of Performance Psychology for the English Institute of Sport, gave the Cambridge University women’s rowing squad a clear message in 2017: “Confidence is the best predictor of success”. She came with data to support this from the EIS, and a personal resumé that included advising the GB Women’s Hockey Team and diver Tom Daley on their way to Olympic success. Kate went on to say that it was perceived confidence that best predicted outcomes across all levels of sport. Not a previous winning (or losing) streak, nor a string of personal bests or any amount of funding. Of course, knowing you have trained hard supports a high level of confidence.
In this case a fairy-tale ending did follow: we broke a five-year losing streak and the Boat Race course record, one which still stands today. I recall sitting on the start line, helicopter hovering overheard and crowds of people looking down at us from Putney Bridge and the Thames’ banks. Any capacity for logical thought was lost to jelly legs and jittery hands. It just wasn’t possible to recreate this moment in training, but Lenny and Kate had known this. Remaining confident and staying centred got me through that race, just as they have since served me when walking into interviews, holding difficult conversations, and even maintaining my sanity during the pandemic.
Staying centred and confident are my mantras as uncertain times continue. If our paths cross at Homerton, stop me and say hello: I’m the one wearing Lycra to lessen the friction between my thighs.