Dan Pfaff on Success Under Pressure (Interview from Ellie Spain)

Last Updated on January 1, 2015 by Jimson Lee

Ellie is a UKA Qualified Jumps Coach, holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning, is a UKSCA accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach, a NSCA certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, a BWLA Certified Olympic Weightlifting Instructor, a qualified teacher PGCE(LLS) and most recently, became a VTCT Certified Sports Massage Therapist.

Follow Ellie on Twitter @ellievault

In this conversation with the Dan Pfaff, the World Athletics Center’s Education Director, she discussed topics which contribute to the building blocks of successful performance under pressure, and how coaches, support teams and family can best help athletes to perform to their potential in these situations.

She asks:

Can we start by looking at what defines successful performance under pressure – what does this look like in your opinion?
What are your thoughts in terms of coaching in a competition setting – what approaches work and do not work?
What would be your advice in terms of planning pre-competition routines?
There has been a lot of recent attention in the literature on ‘choking’ in the context of competition, can you tell us about your thoughts on this?
Can you predict that someone’s going to blow up like that do you think, and if so, how can you stop them doing that?
What about training ‘grit’? Another term being discussed in the realms of performance psychology at present.
Could you explain from your perspective, what is this, how does it apply to athletes, and how do we train it?
How can Integrated Support Teams and Staff best support this process?
What about the influence of family, friends and parents on mental state and athlete readiness? How do we manage this?
In terms of the role of parents, what is your advice for them to best support athlete development?
From a coaches’ perspective – what do you see in terms of behavior traits in those parents who are more challenging in their approach.