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Communication, Self-Reflection and Training Context in Competitive Running Environments

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Kia ora koutou, Hiro here. In my previous article, I discussed how discipline can sometimes become harmful in team settings. This highlights a real coaching challenge: the same words can be interpreted differently depending on the athlete and the environment. (If you missed the previous blog article, click here to read.) That is why both coaches and athletes need to practise self-reflection and stay aware of their training context. In competitive sport, it is common for athletes to complete the same training programme yet experience very different race outcomes. Some athletes perform well, which strengthens their commitment to the coach, the team, and the sport. While others feel disappointed, frustrated, or confused without any expected achievements, despite following the plan just as closely as a team member. What often happens next is subtle but important. Coaches and teammates naturally direct more attention and encouragement toward the athletes who performed well. Meanwhile, ...
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When Discipline Becomes Harmful: Rethinking Eating Disorders in Competitive Sport

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For a long time, I believed there was only one solution to my experience of stress in competitive athletics: leaving the environment. I now realise that this belief came from how narrow my worldview had become. This post is not about blaming coaches, teams, or athletes. It is about understanding how certain environments implicitly shape behaviour—and why mental health difficulties in sport often emerge for multiple, interacting reasons. The Environment I Was In I belonged to a university athletics team where: Performance was constantly visible and evaluated Team norms were strict and rarely questioned in the name of team goals Athletes lived, trained, and ate together Injury was often interpreted as a lack of commitment to the sport (it was commonly evaluated as not being disciplined enough for athletic life) At the starting line, especially in our first year, everyone looked equal. But over time, performance differences emerged and ac...
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“From Fear to Readiness — Mental Training for Early-Career Athletes” (Part 1)

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Core Idea of this article Early athletes often experience anxiety due to unfamiliar contexts. By combining real experience with imagery-based cognitive scripts, they can train emotional and physiological readiness faster and more safely. → This article is ideal for youth athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists. #1: Introduction – Everyone Starts with Nervousness When I was in primary school, I remember standing on the start line of our annual distance running event with my heart racing and my hands shaking. I had no idea or skill to calm the feeling. I was just nervous, holding anxiety and fear. This means the invisible and unknown fear was getting bigger in my mind. It affected my body functions, such as shaking and sweaty hands, or feeling a bit choked and breathing shallowly. Back then, I thought this feeling meant I wasn’t confident enough. But now I realise it was simply the absence of mental skills gained through practice and experience. With years of racing exper...
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“From Fear to Readiness — Mental Training for Early-Career Athletes” (Part 2)

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 This article is Part 2 of  “From Fear to Readiness — Mental Training for Early-Career Athletes”. If you have not read Part 1 yet, click here to read the article!. #4: The Role of Cognitive Scripts and Imagery Cognitive scripts and imagery are adjustment tools to improve mental experience. They help develop stress and nervousness management skills at an optimal level without risk. Some limitations exist: They are not strong physical stimuli, so they do not increase stress tolerance much. A limited range of imagery cannot prepare for all possible situations. However, this intervention and strategy are very practical and helpful in developing mental control skills among youth. Integrating Real and Imagined Experience Model: Imagery (safe) → Physical experience → Reflection → Imagery (refined) Sample cognitive script for early-career athletes: Scenario: Regional inter school championships *Year 6 (like Colgate Games). Goal: Manage stre...
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From Sequence to Flow — Cognitive Script Training for Experienced Athletes (Part 2)

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This article is Part 2 of  "From Sequence to Flow — Cognitive Script Training for Experienced Athletes" If you have not read the Part 1, click here to read ! Cognitive Script Training – A Path to Conscious Flow Cognitive Script Training: A Practical Path to Flow Many people think flow happens by chance, but cognitive script training helps us build it consciously. A cognitive script is like a mental rehearsal of behaviour, emotion, and awareness with training the mind before the body. Here is a sample of a cognitive script. From this sample structure, you can adjust or find your original methods for cognitive script.   Step 1: Journaling Journaling is one of the strongest tools for reflecting on your inner voice. It’s different from a normal training log. It’s focused on why you felt a certain way, not just what you did. Good reflection example: “I felt nervous before the race today. I worried that I wasn’t confident enough to run 42 km. I imagined the tough ...
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From Sequence to Flow — Cognitive Script Training for Experienced Athletes (Part 1)

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  Introduction – The Hidden Structure of Automatic Behaviour Our sports performance is often guided by automatic behaviours, whether in training, racing, or competition. As our career grows, our behaviours naturally form routines. Years of experience and repeated contexts shape our body and mind to be ready for action. This automatic behaviour supports performance biologically and stabilises mental focus psychologically. This article explores how we prepare mentally when nervousness arises and how we can create an optimal mental condition for performance. Many athletes share personal “tips” or methods to repeat their peak performance, but these vary widely. It’s difficult to find a universal model. I’ll explain a structured way to build your own method here. This is a logical framework to help you find your original practice.   Flow Is Not Accidental Elite athletes often say, “I was in flow,” after outstanding performances. We tend to think this state belongs on...
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“Understanding Your Own Worldview and Others Values”

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 Kia Ora koutou, This is Hiro. Today’s blog topic is: “Understanding Your Own Worldview and Others Values”   1: What Are Worldviews? Everyone has their own background, purpose, and reasons for participating in sport. But often, we are unaware of these differences and instead project our own expectations or generalised assumptions onto others. In this article, I invite you to reflect on your deeper motivations and explore other perspectives. Doing so can help you better understand yourself and those around you. This includes recognising why your friends, children, or teammates might feel joy or disappointment for reasons different from your own. If you can understand others’ worldviews and perspectives, you'll be able to communicate more effectively and offer better support to teammates, athletes, and mentors. Ultimately, this awareness can bring more harmony to your sports community.     2: Do You Know Where You Are? In competitive sport, we often...
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