04/11/2023
I had the pleasure of watching a highly relevant TED Talk by swimming superstar Libby Trickett. For anyone interested in kids in sport, and in the mental health of all athletes, I have shared the link to the entire talk below. It is well worth watching as Libby provides many gems of knowledge, facts and insight into supporting sports people, and in particular she highlights how off-hand remarks can have serious negative impacts.
From a coaching stand-point, what's concerning is that these negative comments not only have no place in sport, especially junior sport, but are without doubt the worst way to encourage performance. The hint is in the word "encourage" - it's about positivity, and identifying and praising the positive elements of performance, not about nit-picking perceived flaws. This is especially true when it comes to body image. Libby said it well - the athletes body is none of your business! They are developing their body in line with their performance goals, and this will entail developing muscles and power as relevant to their sport.
Near the end of the video, Libby's comments about body type resonated. She describes how her physical height, hand and foot size, which for Libby are proportionately far smaller than other world class swimmers, didn't stop her from winning 24 gold medals. She highlights how different body types can succeed at the very highest of levels, and that even our greatest athletes have feelings, so why criticise, especially if you have no scientific training and no involvement with the athlete to support your comments?
We have been actively encouraging more women into sport and trying to support their journey and achievements for a long time, and the best way any of us can assist in this is to leave the negative comments out. The old saying "if you can't something good then say nothing" comes to mind, but even better simply find something positive about what they are doing and offer genuine compliments.
Olympic swimming champion, entrepreneur and social changemaker Libby Trickett is on a mission to safeguard and enhance the body image of girls and women in s...