Contact: Wendy Lynne
Email: wendy@mentaltoughnesstrainer.com

TECHNOLOGY HELPS STRUGGLING 17-YEAR-OLD POLE VAULTER WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

What’s the Latest Development?

Portable digital technology is forever changing the face of eduction. Smartphones and e-readers enable learning anyplace, anytime so teachers can better immerse their students in the day’s lesson. And compared to a textbook, a tablet computer seems like magic, summoning up unfathomable amounts of information while displaying colorful and easy-to-read graphics. The interactive and entertaining qualities of new smart devices are inspiring students to take more control over their education.

Individual computer and Internet use among young adults has also soared in the last few years. 89.5% of all school-aged children (between the ages of 5-17) use computers. Internet use is particularly high for teens and pre-teens. More than three-quarters (75.6%) of 14-17 year olds use the Internet at some location. All parents agree making that time more productive would be a huge benefit!

One mother, Julie Jacka turned her greatest frustration: that her child had great potential, but continued to under-perform, into a win using the internet.

Luckily for teen pole-vaulter, Bailee Jacka, when she was discouraged to the point of quitting and her performance seemed stuck, her mother took to the Internet and found her an unusual solution.

Last spring, Jacka’s fears of letting down her coach, her family and herself were at an all time high. “My body would not jump any more,” said Jacka. “I couldn’t run down the runway. I was terrified of jumping on 13 foot poles, but to go higher and meet the expectations I set for myself, I had to.”

As Jacka’s mother, Julie will tell you, “It was extremely frustrating as a parent to have to watch. It affected her family life, school and her overall self-esteem. We got to the point we wanted her to quit, but she is not the kind of kid who’s willing to give up.”

They felt like they should be doing more, but were perplexed and weren’t sure what to do.

The mental side to high-level performance

Even teen athletes with superior talent still struggle with mental challenges that limit their ability to perform to their highest potential. That’s exactly what happened to Jacka, a junior at Deer Park High School in Spokane, Washington.

She had all the physical skills and training to make her a state champion: blazing speed, excellent coordination and tremendous strength for her size. Yet mid-season 2011, her coach, Laurie Chadwick, was stumped when Jacka lost her confidence and was considering quitting after consistently missing her mark.

This story could have ended there, and many do. Another young athlete with great promise fails to blossom into their potential.

Instead, her mother was not willing to give up. She was committed to getting Jacka the help she need. She started searching online for “someone to help her daughter gain control of her brain.” She found Craig Sigl, a mental performance trainer who has helped hundreds of youth athletes get over performance anxiety and master their difficult emotions so they can reach their peak potential.

Sigl, who has been featured on the Evening Magazine television show for his expertise, provided his Mental Toughness Training program that enabled Jacka to rise above her mental/emotional hurdles so she could perform to her true physical capabilities.

Gaining a “Never-Give-Up” Attitude

After working with Sigl’s program for only five weeks, Jacka won the Washington State 2A girls crown in pole vaulting by clearing 10’9” in a driving rainstorm. In the regional’s, she hit a personal best of 11’7”.

When asked how she did it, Jacka replied: “I used his emotional mastery to help me with stress and I learned I can handle any emotion and get through it. Trying to be perfect stressed me out.”

With Sigl’s help she got past her fears of disappointing her coach and parents, of not achieving the goals she set for herself and getting injured. Most importantly, she said, “Now I see an obstacle as something to go through that is going to make my life better. I know how to calm myself down and today I am a much happier person.”

“For teens the competition and pressure to perform has never been greater, and those without mental skills will get left behind,” said Sigl, who works with teen athletes both one-on-one and through his online Mental Toughness training courses. “What’s missing for kids and teens in sports is the mental side of training that creates true self confidence and resiliency in all areas of their life.”

Technology’s role in sports training

Remarkably Jacka and Sigl have never met in person. Her entire mental toughness training was over the internet using Skype!

Sigl has taken his methods worldwide by creating an online mental toughness program that is being used by kids as far away as Chile, United Emirates and Singapore. “With kids being so technology savvy” said Sigl, “it makes sense to provide a training they can use anytime or anywhere on their cellphone, ipod or computer. It’s like having a coach in their pocket when they need it!”

The internet is leveling the playing field for kids in small communities to access resources only big city kids had access to in the past.

For further information or to schedule an interview, call 425-691-8402.

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