Shayla Ballentine Article

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/05 ... 202250.txt

Aztecs pole vaulter Balentine fulfills her potential by silencing 'white noise'

By: MICHAEL KLITZING - Staff Writer

SAN MARCOS ---- San Diego State women's track coach Rahn Sheffield is never at a loss for a novel saying. At times, I wonder if he is lifting quotes from some long-lost "Poor Richard's Sports Almanack."

When speaking about pole vaulter Shayla Balentine's sudden ascent into the realm of the NCAA elite, for instance, Sheffield came up with this pearl:

"The mind is a computer ---- the body is just a printer," Sheffield said. "You can have a great printer, but if that computer's got faulty information, that's all you're going to get."

Simply put, for the first time in her career, Balentine's computer has been running virus-free.

The senior from Los Osos has become one of the more dependable athletes for the Aztecs, who begin competition in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Wednesday in Fort Collins, Colo. On April 9, Balentine broke her own school record by clearing 14 feet, 1/2 inch, which was the nation's second-best collegiate mark this year.

Sheffield notices improvement beyond the new heights cleared. He sees it in her focus. He sees it in how she responds to an unsuccessful vault.

And he can see it in her face in crucial situations.

"I see it at meets when her competitor will jump higher than her, and she only has one jump to go," he said. "She's still just as calm as she is when sheís in practice."

Said Balentine: "This year I changed ---- I didn't expect to break the record or jump 14. I just came out here and focused on fitness and mental well-being, and that kind of led me to a great season.

"I put so much pressure on myself the last three years. It killed me. I would focus on 'You have to jump this,' or 'You have to jump that,' instead of just relaxing and letting my natural ability take over."

That natural ability is considerable.

At Morro Bay High, Balentine set the national high school record by vaulting 13-8. But once she arrived on Montezuma Mesa, her meteoric rise hit a valley. Away from her old coach ---- 1972 Olympic bronze medalist Jan Johnson ---- and unprepared to think on her own as an athlete, self-doubt quickly crept in.

Balentine worked hard and always had heart, keeping her in the national top-20 among pole vaulters. But her "computer" always seemed to be impeding her progress. During crucial jumps, Sheffield remembers, her mental state was "a complete meltdown."

"I was more of a practice jumper," Balentine said. "In a competition, I kind of lost all my self-assurance. I'd have the mentality of, 'I'm going to go out and kick some (tail),' but I'd kind of lose it once I'd get on the runway."

Said Aztecs pole vault guru Rich Fox: "She had always been an excellent athlete and a great competitor, but there's a difference between wanting something and believing you can accomplish that goal."

Fox said part of the improvement can be credited to the fact Balentine now is committed to every mechanical aspect of the vault. She started watching videotape to improve her technique.

Her body was also a priority. Balentine started taking nutrition classes at San Diego State to learn how to eat properly, and she maintained her consistency in the weight room.

But it couldn't stop there.

"All last year, she went to a sports psychologist to better understand how to approach competition," Fox said. "She was a student of the sport. She was always a very good pole vaulter in practice, clearing 14 feet many times.

"But by going to the sports psychologist, we were able to help her channel nervousness and excitement."

The use of sports psychologists is nothing new for Sheffield ---- a coach as cerebral and innovative as you will find in any sport. He estimates 40 percent of his athletes employ the help of one the handful of psychologists who regularly work with the program.

The desired result of the therapy is simple; blocking out the bad and focusing on the good. Sheffield dubs it "conquering the peripheral opponent." The psychologists prepare athletes for competition by working on mental imagery and teaching them how to approach a meet.

"We use the term white noise," Fox said. "Everybody's got little doubts that kind of creep into your mind when you're on the runway, approaching a plant and taking off. White noise comes in and says, 'Are you sure everything is there? Are you sure youíre running fast enough? Are you sure the wind is good enough?' "

Balentine used to be consumed by that doubt. This year, it's nowhere to be found.

"(The psychologists) have helped me in so many ways and have done everything they possibly can," Balentine said. "This year, it just kind of clicked."

[soonervaulter]

The athletic department at my university just hired a sport psychologist to work with student athletes as well.

[PVPirate26]

i think i need a sports psychologist!!

[Greero]

Due to a recent rut spanning the past two weeks I find myself extremely frustrated and disappointed in my inability to jump anymore. Something in my mind tells me I can't at the last second every single time and my senior year is running out. My dad just talked to a guy at our church who is a sports psychologist and said he wants to help me. I sure hope it works. I'm desperate to jump again.