As more and more sports teams at Pleasant Valley qualify for their respective state tournaments, fans are left wondering just what it is that Spartan athletes have that the rest of the state is missing. The truth is, high school athletics are no longer just a battle of physical skill.
It’s a battle of mental skill, too.
Two of PV Girls’ varsity teams have implemented aspects of mindfulness as a standard practice in order to give them an edge over the competition. The effects of yoga and team bonding has led to great success.
Since 2019, the PV volleyball team has qualified for the state tournament and this past fall clenched the school’s first state championship. For the past four years, one thing has improved their game and set them apart from the competition: biweekly yoga sessions.
What started off as a way to recover and improve flexibility soon developed into much more.
Head Coach Amber Hall has found that the practice has helped transform the way her team manages high pressure situations. “It really elevates us as a whole program,” Hall said. “Especially in those pressure situations. Just knowing and trusting that we got this, and being able to learn and grow.”
Similar to the volleyball team, the girls’ varsity cross country team has adopted similar changes. Eager to do better after an impressive second-place finish at the state meet last fall, the team has altered their practice schedule with ‘We Wednesdays.’
Senior Riley Asselin describes We Wednesdays as a practice where runners branch out and run with new people in order to build a more positive environment and create a connected collective group. “Our team this year is stronger than we have been in the past couple years,” Asselin said. She credits her coach for the recent improvements in team chemistry. The pack mentality, and the idea of using one another as motivation, has been their focus.
Although We Wednesdays are a new addition to practice, Asselin is already seeing and feeling the results. “In races there are points where you want to give up so it’s nice having a teammate next to you that will motivate you to keep trying,” she continued.
Why are these two strategies successful? Psychology teacher and certified yoga instructor, Ann Berger says one thing. Repetition.
As PV’s athletic department has demonstrated, the idea of incorporating mindfulness into a team’s routine is a practice that has recently become popular. However, Berger advocates that mindfulness is not supposed to be ‘trendy’; it’s supposed to be helpful. “If the focus is on the ‘W’, then it’s not genuine,” Berger said. “People will be their best if we look at that practice for the right reasons.” Berger encourages all teams at PV to consider adding in consistent mindfulness to practice.
As the 2022 fall season kicks off, both the volleyball and girls’ cross country teams should be kept on everyone’s radar as they gradually work towards a state title.
Elyanna Toulou • Sep 11, 2022 at 9:51 pm
This article is interesting because it shows mental health awareness has increased in the past few years. While the mindfulness practices in these sports aren’t big changes in the team this article shows that it can have such a positive impact on an athlete. Sometimes a sport can be more mentally draining than it is physically and it is very important to focus on the mental part. Oftentimes mental health gets pushed back for physical ability and I think they are equally important.
Jessica Raymond • Sep 9, 2022 at 12:35 pm
This article overall makes a lot of sense. I’m glad to hear that athletes are trying to strive to have a better mental health and work on doing better for their health and for school and athletics. Being under pressure all the time might not show off the best work and for sports I feel coach’s want you to do the best you can all the time. If i were to be playing a sport still, I feel like I would offer this up to my team to help us better ourselves. I think this is a very good thing and many teams should be doing this, so that everyone is doing their best, and helping their health become better.