Mental Health During Covid

Swim Science Newsletter

December 2020

Webinar on Mental Health During the COVID Crisis

A webinar on “Athlete Mental Health during the COVID Crisis” will be conducted on a Saturday in January at 3:30 pm New York time. The webinar will include an athlete, a coach (Sergio Lopez Miro), and two sport psychologists (Dr. John Heil and Dr. Ina Harizanova).

Information to connect to Webinar via Zoom will be sent out next month.

To submit questions for the webinar use the link below or Dr. Heil’s email address: JohnHeil@psychhealthroanoke.com

Click to submit questions to the presenters.

Improve Scapular Position to Prevent Injury

A group of 25 elite female swimmers participated in an eight week program of five exercises (Sousa, Malta, Carrageta, & Batalha, 2019). The exercises improved shoulder posture as measured by a significant decrease in the AWI (Acromion to Wall) distance. The exercises improved the scapular position as measured by significant decreases in the UHD (Upper Horizontal Distance) and LHD (Lower Horizontal Distance) measured from the center of the spine.

The full article is posted here:

193.147.134.18/bitstream/11000/5921/1/1833-5403-1-PB.pdf

Video Series on Pain and Sport Performance

ISCA Board Member and Sport Psychologist, Dr. John Heil, will be presenting a 3-part series on pain and sport performance. In the first of the series, he discusses a personal sport injury, the pain that followed, and the ways in which the moment-to-moment experience of pain changed with the series of events that followed.

Episode 1: Personal Perspective on Pain & Sport

Episode 2: The Science of Pain: Biological, Psychological, Social-Cultural

Episode 3: Feats of Pain Tolerance: How Remarkable Athletes Perform

Click to view the Episode 1 video.

Backstroke Tips to Maximize Propulsion

A new article in Swimming World by Dr. Havriluk explains strategies to optimize the base of support in backstroke for maximum propulsion. As shown in the figure below, the article includes comparisons with freestyle at the completion of the arm entry phase (top panel) and the push phase (bottom panel).