Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Raising Elite Competitors podcast. If we have not met yet, I'm Coach Sailor, our head athlete, coach inside of the elite competitor, and we work specifically with girl athletes to help increase their confidence and level up their mental game. Today's episode is very special. We have our February athlete of the month. Baylor here with me today, and Baylor is going to be sharing her story of how she's been able to bounce back quicker from mistakes in figure skating, as well as just really level up her performance. She's been crushing it out on the ice and has gotten a lot of first places in her competitions too, so we're excited to hear it from her. All right, Baylor, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. And we're super excited to have you. Um, and I shared this with you earlier. We're very, very proud of how hard you've been working on your mental game as well, and are excited to hear more about what's going on with that and what's been really effective for you. Um, I would love for you to introduce yourself. So let us know your name, your age, and what sports you do. So, hi, I am Baylor PI am 11 years old and I figure skate as well as rodeo, and I show Kyle. Yeah, I love it. Some different sports, right? Like non-traditional sports. Yeah. So I'm really excited to talk today and get to know about how you're using mindset tools in both of those sports. Um, and tell me how long have you been doing both figure skating and your, um, rodeo as well? Um, I've been figure skating for about seven or six years, and I've rodeoed in four H for about three years. And then I've also done youth rodeos as well, which you can start when you're. Young. Okay. Okay. Awesome. So been doing both of those things for quite a while now. Um, tell me what you love most about your sports. Like what ke, what draws you to being a face figure skater and being a rodeo athlete? Um, I really love them both. This social part is nice, but I. I don't. I just love them both. I love how I feel on the ice and in the arena, and being with my horse in rodeo and just excelling. Yeah, sounds like you have a huge passion for it as well as you just love to work hard too and get better in any way that you can. Um, okay. And then tell me if you know off the top of your head, how long have you been inside of the elite mental game? I just kind of started it so less than a year. Probably a few months now. Okay. That's what I thought I was gonna say a few months, but I wasn't sure the exact timeline. Um, and what brought you to the Elite mental game? How come you joined in the first place? What were some maybe challenges or struggles that you were going through the time? Well, I was getting really nervous and sometimes I'd even black out and forget what I was doing. So my mom came across it, Facebook or something, and. I, we thought we'd try it to see if this helped me get less nervous. Yeah. Okay. I love that. I think that's why many athletes join. They notice that their nerves and the pressure is getting too great. They're not performing the way that they want, the way that they really know how. And sometimes just that lack of confidence as well. Um, okay. I know from yours. Story you have shared with us that you are a champion because you are more confident and you're not as hard on yourself, which again, congrats like kudos to you. You've been working super hard on that. What do you think has been one of the biggest things that has helped with your confidence and being able to not be so hard on yourself? Self? Well, the affirmations help a little bit, and then just my snapback routine, taking some deep breaths. Yeah. Okay. I'd love to talk a little bit more about both of those with your affirmation. So for those of you who are not in the program and maybe don't know, athletes, develop what's called their 3, 2, 1 daily mindset routine. Um, and part of that is coming up with affirmations that are really connected to what your goals are and what you're working towards, so that you can imagine those things coming true. And see yourself becoming it right now, even if it feels like it's something in the future, you see yourself as that athlete right now. Do you know off the top of your head what your affirmations are? Would you be willing to share those Baylor? Sure. So one of most of'em are just, um, times when I've been really successful, and that's kind of where the confidence came in because I was usually confident in those moments. Mm-hmm. Few of those were just, um, really good like days of competing. Off the top of my head, I don't think I could name. Name em, but that's totally fine. Yeah. So sounds like what's important to you is just like building yourself up with some positive self statements, giving yourself, um, those small little like mantras and things like that. Um, okay. And then with your snapback routine, again, for those of you who maybe are not familiar with, um, our program, the Elite Mental Game, the Snapback routine is one of the first tools that athletes learn, and I would say it's probably our most popular tool as well. Um, so a snapback routine is taking a deep breath, and then athletes have a word that they come up with to help reset and then a quick physical signal that they do as well. Um, Baylor, tell me a little bit about what it was like if you remember, when you were first learning your snapback routine and what kinds of situations you've been able to use it in. Um, I usually use it when I'm nervous or when I'm going to an event. That's important. And I just, I take a deep breath. I say confidence, and I either snap or tap something just to. Get my nerves off, so, okay. Yeah. You knew what I was gonna ask you next. I was gonna ask you what your, what your word and your signal were so confident. Oh, yeah. And then being able to snap your fingers, or, I know a lot of athletes will do some sort of tapping motion. Yeah. And then you're able to just have that calmness and feel really grounded and reset in about two seconds. Right. Like that doesn't take very long. I'm wondering, before you had your snapback routine. How long would you say it took you to bounce back from a mistake or to kind of calm down with the nerves that you had going on? Well, I you a while'cause I just was harder on myself and mm-hmm. Kind of down, but. I'd say like an hour or more. Yeah. Yeah. Which is like quite a long time. Right. Um, and we need to be present. We have to be able to compete in the moment and respond really quickly. So having that snapback routine is helping with your recovery time really. Um, and being able to bounce back Super. Um, what, what do you think has helped your snapback routine really click for you? Because I feel like it has really clicked from what you've shared with me of like using it to calm yourself down. Um, we're gonna talk about the competition where you got, I think first and all six of your events and you were able to use it as well. So what helps that click for you? Um, I think it was just the deep breath just really calms me down and. Just trying to put myself in one of my best playing moments. Mm-hmm. And trying to visualize. Yeah. Yeah. Super important to be able to recover. Okay. Now let's get into that competition that you shared with us, where you got first place in six of your events. Take me back to that competition of like, how did you prepare, maybe what kinds of tools you used and just like how you had that winning mindset. Yeah, so I, in that competition, I was probably a little nervous. I think I texted you and it was like, yeah, I need help. I'm nervous or, and I used what you texted me back with. And then I also just took deep breaths and used my snapback routine. And I think that really helped. Yeah. Awesome. One, I'm super proud of you for reaching out. It can be hard asking for support when we're struggling sometimes, right? Like that's a scary thing. It feels like we shouldn't have to ask for support and resources, but it's such a strong thing to be able to say like, I'm nervous. What can I do? And I think that speaks to how coachable you are as well, and how willing you are to grow in your open-mindedness, which I really appreciated. Um, and you were able to be coachable and go and implement that feedback right away and like lean on your snapback routine as well. Control what was in your control, um, and really just trust your training. Right? Again, you've worked so hard and you've earned that trust and you've laid a really strong foundation for yourself. Okay, and then have you had any other competitions since we have last met? What's, what's been the updates so far? Yeah, so I've actually had two other figure skating competitions. One was actually last week and the other one was Valentine's Day weekend. Okay. So the competition last week was, um, a further away, it was a bigger competition. Mm-hmm. And I got, I competed in four events and I got first. Two of'em, and then I fell in one of'em. Mm-hmm. Or I fell in the other two and I got last. But one thing also that I noticed is I was a little surprised that I wasn't as emotional or mad. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's a huge win. Right? Again, congrats on getting first in that event, and it's still a huge win to be able to like really be in control of your emotions and manage your response to when you have a big setback, right? Obviously, nobody wants to fall out on the ice, like that's not something that you're intending to do. What do you think allowed you to like stay in control of your emotions? What were some of those like shifts that helped with, with that? Um, I'm not sure. I mean, I was super surprised myself, but I think it'd just be like, like I said, those deep breaths really calming me down and yeah. Yeah, I did get hurt a a little bit. Oh. But I was just taking those deep breaths, trying to hold the emotion in, and I think that helped. Yeah, totally. And like it's okay to feel emotions too, right? Like we're humans, we're gonna have those emotions and we want to still be able to move on like really effectively as well. So I'm glad that you have your deep breath. I think of your deep, a deep breath as like a, your superpower or your secret weapon, right? Um, and it's like no one really knows that you're using it because we breathe all the time to keep us alive. But taking that intentional deep breath is the quickest way to calm down your nervous system, um, and go from thinking that you're stressed and it feels like a lion is chasing you right into a more calm, relaxed, grounded state of mind. Um, okay. Are you okay now? How has recovery been from like, getting hurt? Um, well, I. So the practice, like the week before I hurt my hip and then I hurt my hip and practice right before that. Mm-hmm. And then I fell on the hip that I hurt. Yeah. The week before. But I'd say in practice that one hurt the most. And then when I fell otherwise it just kind of triggered that where I got hurt before. Yeah. But it's nothing major. Okay. I'm, I'm glad to hear that. Yeah. Sometimes things can just get aggravated, right. And we continue to repeat kind of the same situation. So keep on taking care of your body and your mind. Um, okay. And then I also, I wanna shift a little bit, um, to your goals.'cause it sounds like you still have pretty big goals for the rest of the season as well. I believe you're working towards some axles. And just continuing to level up your confidence. So tell me more about the goals that you have in mind and your vision for that, and if you have a plan for reaching those goals. Well, like you said, I really want to achieve my axle. That is a big achievement. Mm-hmm. And I am working towards that, doing stuff off ice. So that is one of my major goals. And then I also just wanna do well in competition and pass. My levels and just keep leveling up, keep excelling and see where that takes me. I love that. And it sounds like, again, you're working hard on and off the ice as well, getting really quality reps in, um, continue focusing on what you can control, right? That's gonna help you get the outcomes that you're really wanting in competition and different tests and leveling up too. Um, okay. And then I also know that your mom is going through the program too, and she's been super intentional about it. I'm curious if you guys like talk about the program together and what you're learning in the elite mental game, or even if you've noticed a difference in how your mom is supporting you, how she shows up for different events, um, when you are nervous, how she responds. Yeah, so we usually do the lessons and the car rides, and sometimes we'll talk after it. And then I've also noticed, I used to get frustrated with her because, um, she would like correct me after I had maybe a loss and I was just mm-hmm. Still processing it. Now she waits until I ask her for feedback or stuff. Yeah. And that. Has really helped me. Awesome. I'm really glad you guys have like, strengthened your relationship going through the program together. Um, and I think a lot of athletes feel like after they compete, they're like, mom, you are saying the wrong thing to me. Right? Like, I don't, that's not what I wanna hear. So I'm glad that she's been able to give you that space to process and reflect. And then again, when you're needing that support, you are being able to reach out for that as well. Um, but you're noticing that like she's not jumping in right away to try to coach or fix anything, um, which I think is gonna give a lot of power to you as well to kind of coach yourself and be able to reflect really thoughtfully too. Awesome. All righty. And then any other mindset wins that have happened recently, both in or out of sports that you'd like to share? Um, not really. I mean, I've kept my grades up and I've had some successful competitions, but we're kind of, he heading towards the end of competition season. But this summer and spring, I'll start my rodeo season, so I'll try to end. Incorporate the Elite mental game program into that. Totally. Yeah. Do you have any goals in mind for rodeo? I know that it's a few months away, but have you thought about what you're wanting to achieve this year? Yeah, so what I am most successful in go tying, and I really would like to make it to state rodeo finals. Mm. And I was close last year, top four, go to state, and I got fifth, so I was a little frustrated then. And I wish I would've had my snap snapback routine then. Yeah, for sure. Because that would've been been helpful because I was pretty frustrated. Yeah, I totally hear you on that. And like, what a great opportunity to get after it this year. Um, now that you do have the tools and you're gonna be so consistent and it's gonna be really reliable for you. Um, so excited for you to crush it and go and make states happen. Um, all right, Baylor, well, this was great to hear your story and just to sh just to see how much you've grown over. I mean, it's been less than a year since you've been in the elite mental game. Huge kudos to you. Keep on working hard, both on and off the ice and the fields. Um, any other advice that you would give any athletes who are potentially struggling with their mental game or when you were really nervous, what would you say to them? Find your superpower while going through this program. And like, mine is my deep breath, so find that. Just once you're in the program, keep sticking with it.'cause I think it is really helpful. Yeah. Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. I love to hear that. Yeah, like lean into your strengths, figure out what works best for you, and then stay really consistent with it. All right, Baylor, again, thanks so much for being our February athlete of the month. We're super proud of you and we will see you inside of the elite mental game as we keep on supporting you through the end of the season. Thank you. Bye. You're welcome.