Psychological parameters of peak performance

A few testimonials

Kendall Gretsch has won four gold medals at the Summer and Winter Paralympics. She credits some of her success to the USOPC's mental health services, and she described the value of them this way.

"We have a sports psychologist who travels with us for most our season," she said. "Just being able to touch base with them ... and getting that reminder of why are you here. What is that experience you're looking for?"

American figure skater Alysa Liu is the 2025 world champion and was sixth in the 2022 Olympics. She's a big believer in sports psychology and should be among the favorites in Italy.

"I work with a sport psychologist," she said without giving a name. "She's incredible — like the MVP."

Of course, MVP stands — not for Most Valuable Person or Most Valuable Player — for "Most Valuable Psychologist".

"I mean, she's very helpful," Liu added.

American downhill skier Vonn will race in Italy in her sixth Olympics. At 41, she's coming off nearly six years in retirement and will be racing on a knee made of titanium.

Two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister has suggested in jest that Vonn "should see a psychologist" for attempting such a thing in a very dangerous sport where downhill skiers reach speeds of 80 mph (130 kph).

Vonn shrugged off the comments and joked a few months ago that she didn't grow up using a sport psychologist. She said her counseling came from taping messages on the tips of her skis that read: "stay forward or hands up."

"I just did it myself," she said."I do a lot of self-talk in the starting gate."

On sleep

"Sleep is an area where athletes tend to struggle for a number of reasons," Clark said, listing issues such as travel schedules, late practices, injuries and life-related stress.

"We have a lot of athletes who are parents, and lot of sleep is going to be disrupted in the early stages of parenting," she said."We approach sleep as a real part of performance. But it can be something that gets de-prioritized when days get busy."

Clark suggests the following for her athletes — and the rest of us: no caffeine after 3 pm, mitigate stress before bedtime, schedule sleep at about the same time daily, sleep in a dark room and get seven-nine hours.

Dani Aravich, a two-time Paralympian — she's been in both the Summer and Winter Games — will be skiing in the upcoming Paralympics. She said in a recent interview that she avails herself of many psychological services provided by the USOPC.

"I've started tracking my sleep," she said, naming Clark as a counselor. "Especially being an athlete who has multiple jobs, sleep is going to be your No 1 savior at all times. It's the thing that — you know — helps mental clarity."

Ditto Clark.

"Sleep is the cornerstone of healthy performance," she added.