OVER-VIEW OF CONTEST PERFORMANCE

By

Wayne Oras

The following information was developed in an effort to help my daughter understand how positive attitudes can help a diver be successful in competition. I searched for a way to do this without writing a long dissertation therefore it was written in outline form. This is actually the first time in all my years of coaching that I tried to put it on paper.

The upper half of the outline demonstrates the qualities possessed by the diver who is highly successful. The bottom half represents a picture of a diver who can rarely succeed. By looking at the bottom half, we can also see an individual with questionable self-esteem. I firmly believe that divers can program themselves to have successful days as well as unsuccessful days and that it is a matter of choice for them.

As I looked at the outline, I began to wonder if there was a better way to demonstrate this. This is where the target idea emerged. The first two targets serve as instructional models.

The other three targets serve as goal setting targets. If you are playing darts and you hit the Bull's Eye, you have achieved the goal. If you are constantly hitting the outer rings of the target, you will never be close to achieving the goal. There is even a target for mediocre performances because most divers will hit some point on all three of these targets. The more successful divers will have most of their darts on the success target.

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