Word: bernalls
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Harvard Men's Swimming Coach Joe Bernal didn't agree with bgan's decision, but once it was made Bernal accepted...
...Bernal claims that by the end of the season at the Eastern finals, his team is swimming a race that they have mentally rehearsed thousands of times before. Last year, for example, his "weak team" placed first at the Eastern Seaboard Championships because of their mental preparedness, he says...
...that starting block everyone's equal...it's a mental game in the water to see how tough you are, how mentally prepared you are to accept those challenges...The race doesn't go to the strongest team, the fastest team, but the one that's most intelligent," Bernal says...
With this goal in mind, Bernal has his swimmers spending four-five hours a week on mental training. Two and one half hours of this time are spent as a group each week in practice. Beyond that swimmers are expected to devote time on-their own, listening to a series of cassettes prepared for individual relaxation training...
...Fifty percent of the time you fail if you haven't prepared mentally," Bernal adds, explaining that advance mental rehearsal gives an athlete a sense of control that leads to confidence. "It teaches you how to make that nervous feeling you get before a performance an ally--your body letting you know that it's ready to perform...