Junior Nathalie Wallin, back for her third year as a member of the women's tennis team in 2007-08, will write a bi-weekly blog about UTSA Athletics for goUTSA.com this year. The Stockholm, Sweden, native has played in 38 singles matches and 33 doubles contests in her first two seasons as a Roadrunner. A communications major, Wallin aspires to be a journalist upon graduation.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
If you visualize something very strongly in your mind, the picture tends to come true. The mental capacity for each individual is highly underestimated. An athlete’s performance has a strong connection to their mental ability. Sometimes “tricking” the mind can be very easily done. Both positive and negative thoughts can trigger the enforcement of a mental state. For instance, viewing yourself in a positive light, such as seeing yourself as a winner, will greatly impact your performance. Also, having positive thoughts towards a specific stroke can help to improve your abilities.
Every sport involves psychological aspects that have an impact on a person’s performance. Not only is it important for an athlete to be strong physically, but they must be mentally as well. Easily, an individual can be distracted or put under pressure, which will typically result in a loss rather than a win. Performance tends to go hand-in-hand with how mentally strong an athlete is. How do athletes then improve their mental capability?
Sports psychologists tend to have a huge impact on helping athletes achieve a confident image of themselves. For some athletes, however, a sport physiologist is not useful. Instead, some athletes prefer to talk to someone in their surroundings that they feel closer and more comfortable toward. For some athletes, their own mental ability is stronger. I highly believe that every individual has their own ability to change a negative pattern. The notion that, “it is all in your mind,” tends to very often be a true statement. Being able to pull through difficult times and learn from it, makes you stronger as an athlete and as an individual. Much self confidence comes with great success. I am very confident the Roadrunners have many victories coming up in the future.
Friday, Feb. 22, 2008
I once saw a bracelet with an inscription that stated “life is not a final destination, but a journey.” I believe in every word that message unveils. Traveling is part of life. A person either goes to work every day, has business trips across the nation, or travels internationally as an athlete.
Traveling has always been a great part of my life. I had my first international trip when I was two years old, and I was 10 years old when I first traveled without my parents. The majority of my trips have been tennis related and involved different tournament and training camp destinations. Tennis has not only been a crucial part for me on the court, but the sport has also had a huge impact for me in life. At an early age I learned to become more independent and mature as a person. I have gained great experiences by interacting with different people and an enhanced understanding between cultures. Also, I have been able to take care of myself in different situations. I strongly believe in the notion that there is always a solution to everything. Either you are looking for a train in a small village in the south of Sweden or you are lost at a subway station in a large city such as Istanbul.
Being a college athlete involves much traveling. As an athlete you have the opportunity to compete at many different places in the U.S. This weekend the women tennis team traveled to Los Angeles, California. Although the outcome resulted in two losses, I believe we gained considerable experience by competing against different schools we usually do not play against. On Saturday, the outcome was 2-5 against UC Santa Barbara, and on Sunday we lost 1-6 against Loyola Marymount. However, on Sunday we had tight losses on number one and number two single positions. Also, the double point could have been in our favor. Taking advantage of the few opportunities you get is very crucial against these teams.
Although you are a college athlete or a student, traveling fulfills many aspects of life. I feel very privileged as a college athlete to be able to travel with a team and to compete in many different places. Also, I am very grateful for my parents, who supported my tennis at an early age and allowed me to compete in new places. I believe traveling serves as a crucial part of an athlete’s life. Not only does traveling support stronger team bonding, but as an individual you learn from the trip itself. Athletes have the opportunity to play different opponents and try different environments for competition. But most importantly, I believe traveling makes you grow as a person.
We have a very exciting weekend coming up. This weekend the track team travels to Houston to compete in the Southland Conference Indoor Championships. Also, the men’s basketball team will return to action on Saturday against Texas State in San Marcos. The women’s basketball team has a remarkable run going with 10 victories in a row. They beat UT Arlington on Thursday and on Saturday they have a home game against Texas State. Baseball opens its season at Wolff Stadium in the UTSA Baseball Classic, and softball goes to El Paso to play UTEP. This is a very busy, but exciting time for UTSA sports, so be ready to go out and support our Roadrunners.
Friday, Feb. 8, 2008
People used to say that you live and learn; that life is a learning process and you learn by experience. Sometimes achievement and higher performance in life make you more confident, which eventually leads to greater success. However, I believe that to continue a winning streak is not as difficult as to learn from failure. For athletes, failure can be something very devastating and heartbreaking, but I consider failure to be part of life. Failure makes you grow as an athlete and as a person.
This weekend the women’s tennis team experienced a close win against Middle Tennessee. However, on Sunday, the result was less favorable after a 7-0 loss against SMU. As an athlete you have to strongly believe in yourself when you put yourself out there on the court or on the field. If you do not believe in yourself, who will? Personally, I can be disappointed that I dropped my match against SMU after being up 5-0 in the first set and playing my best tennis. However, I believe that the attitude afterward is very essential in determining an athlete’s future. Athletes have to learn from mistakes in a game and accept them to be able to move on for future matches. Although the motivation is fading and the frustration is growing, when athletes do not take advantage of the few chances they get in a game, mentality has a huge impact. I strongly believe in the notion that everything is in the mind. If you picture yourself as a winner, you will pull yourself through and have that extra advantage that is going to make a difference in a match.
I believe every sport has its own mental game. Whether you play individually or as a team, the pressure and the small margins are always going to count. The ones who can break through their own mental limitations and always believe in themselves are going to experience the greatest victories. Athletes can decide mentally how much the game means to them and how much effort they are willing to put into the game. Instead of ignoring the loss, athletes should learn from their mistakes. Eventually, that will make them stronger. To win is easy. The most difficult part is to be down and to get up to the top again.
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008
A new semester, a new year, and a new beginning. Many of our athletics teams at UTSA start their seasons in the spring. For others, such as the women and men’s basketball teams, the season already is in progress.
What motivates our athletes to come back from the holidays and start a new season? I believe the eagerness to achieve higher recognition and the willingness to perform successfully in their respective sports motivates most athletes. However, I also think that being part of a team and the feeling of belonging to a group brings many athletes back to school.
During the Christmas break, many of our athletes went home to celebrate the holidays with their friends and families. For some of our international athletes, “home” is a continent away. According to dictionary.com, home is “a place in which one’s domestic affections are centered.” I would refer to that as an environment where you find the people you feel most attached to. Going back to a home country can be similar to living in two different realities. In the U.S., an athlete is viewed as a teammate, a college student and as an individual person who moved from home. However, the experience differs from when athletes go back to spend time with their families. At home, an athlete is viewed as the child, the old high school friend and the club mate. Being able to handle both realities is sometimes difficult, but it causes a person to realize the importance of both situations. Thus, in the end, athletes return to school and their teammates and usually nothing changes from where they left off.
I am very excited for this upcoming semester. Last weekend, the women’s tennis team traveled to Austin to play UT. Meanwhile, the men’s basketball team plays Texas State at home on Saturday night. I would encourage everyone to go out and cheer for them. There is nothing more exciting than when we play the Bobcats at the Convo. The women and men’s track & field teams started their seasons a couple weeks ago and the men travel to Boise this upcoming weekend. In February, our softball and baseball teams kick off their seasons.
Every semester, a new season starts for some of our teams, and regardless of how the outcome is going to be, I believe the importance is to put all the effort toward success. However, success is not always defined as something that is written down on a paper but more in how much effort athletes put toward their sports. To be prepared gives the opportunity to perform at one’s peak, which eventually leads to greater results. New beginnings apply to everything in life. How athletes put themselves out there from the beginning is what makes the difference.
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007
“Why Do All Good Things Come To An End?”
That’s a song by Nelly Furtado that could easily explain the end of the women’s tennis team’s fall semester. Yet, what a great way to finish the season.
The team traveled to Denton this past weekend to play the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), University of Chicago (UIC) and University of North Texas (UNT). Compared to previous weekends, this competition was a team challenge and not counted individually. Karen Scida and Caroline Dedring won their three doubles matches after a remarkable comeback against UIC. Also, Holly Philips and I captured three doubles wins after saving a match point against UNT. Freshman Dedring had outstanding shows by winning all her matches, as well as Scida, who only dropped one match against Weronika Blocyzynska of UTEP.
Last weekend the women’s soccer team concluded their regular season with the Southland Conference Tournament coming up this week. For the second year in a row, they had a chance to win the conference championship on the final weekend. Pretty amazing for a program that is just in its second year. Also, with two regular season matches left, the women volleyball team is about to end its season. They host the Southland Conference Tournament next weekend at the Convocation Center and are already qualified as one of the top eight schools.
Many last efforts are being put forth by the sports that are seeing their seasons come to an end, while other athletes such as members of the women’s and men’s basketball teams are about to start their seasons.
As I mentioned in previous blogs, athletes put forth much effort every day to stay at a competitive and high level in their sports. When you recognize that all hard work on and off court starts to pay off, you realize that every single effort has been worth it. The goal for the women’s tennis team this season has been to be prepared for the spring semester. The season has been a great learning process and many gained experiences have been put into the game.
But, why do all good things come to an end? Having the fall season finished does not indicate that everything is defiantly over. Instead, I would call the end a new beginning. Maybe all the hard effort that has been put into the game this semester has led to a great starting point for the upcoming spring. We are ready for next semester, ready to take off and ready to compete at a higher level.
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007
When it comes to tennis, a second chance can be highly appreciated. In everyday life, a second chance is commonly used when emphasizing relationship issues. Usually, the second chance involves forgiveness and to what extent you are willing to allow your friend or partner a new opportunity. In tennis, however, a second chance takes form in a consolation bracket, where players who lose their first round matches play against each other. A consolation draw does not only give you the opportunity to compete again, but also to put forth new effort to win. A consolation bracket, gives you the possibility to enhance your performance and to gain confidence again. Not only are you allowed to play more matches, but it helps you to forget your losses and to improve your match figures.
This past weekend, when we traveled to Lubbock with the women’s tennis team, five of us girls unfortunately lost in the first round. However, we were all given a “second” chance, which we used successfully. I won my consolation group, while defeating two girls from Texas Tech and the University of Houston. Caroline Dedering had a long second match in the consolation draw, where she won after a shaking overhead that barely passed the serve line. However, winning 10-8 in a super tiebreak in the third set against Erika Iriarte of Corpus Christi not only gave Dedering the victory of the consolation bracket, but also gave her confidence and determination for the upcoming spring semester. Also, Karen Scida won two matches in the consolation draw. Due to bad whether conditions, her third match was canceled.
Second chances usually involve forgiveness and to what extent a person can forget. Though, in sports, a second chance is made to give the player an opportunity to perform more successfully. The fall season is a time for maturity and to gain confidence, so when the spring season is coming up, players are more ready to perform at their ultimate stage. Therefore, given a second chance in the fall is crucial for every player to win more matches and to learn from old experiences. The link between relationships and sports, while involving second chances, are similar in learning. You learn from old experiences to affect your future. In sports, a consolation bracket is not only “a winner of the loser” game, but also allows you to be more prepared for upcoming matches and to develop new experiences.
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007
I had a very interesting conversation with one of my closest friends last week. She emphasized how in interviews with professional athletes, “faith” was the most common response to why athletes have a desire to participate in their sports. It made me think a lot. What makes athletes willing to put all their effort into their sports, when spending hours on working out and training every day? What motivates all our UTSA athletes to be in the weight room and out on the field, to dedicate their time and effort to one single sport? I believe there are some common factors overall in why athletes put up all this hard work.
Ambition in becoming better so that athletes one day can reach their ultimate performance stage is one reason. Being able to participate in front of a big crowd and the eagerness to win are other motivational factors. Finally, passion toward their job, because it is a full-time job for athletes to dedicate all their time and effort to their individual sports. Also, to keep in mind, it takes a special and certain stage of mind to compete in a collegiate sport level. You should be able to sacrifice your time and be 100-percent committed to your sport to perform successfully. I believe faith motivates the UTSA women’s volleyball and soccer teams and that drives them to pull out of five- and four- match losing streaks, respectively this season Eagerness drives the tennis teams to be prepared for the spring when they are competing individually in the fall. Expectations are another factor the women’s and men’s basketball teams are facing when their season starts in almost one month from now.
So, when you go out there and support the UTSA athletics teams, you should realize that there is much effort behind every single sport’s performance. The athletes devote many hours to their sports and many more hours will be required in the future, so one day they can view themselves as champions.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007
Last week, the Athletics Department proudly announced that the referendum to increase the UTSA Athletics Fee paid by students passed with a strong majority. I am very excited and happy that 3,031 students actually voted “yes” and are willing to take the athletics program to a new level. Also, I believe that the achievement becomes more unique when putting in perspective how the number of students that voted was greater than the most recent election at the University of Texas. I believe the referendum is an important step for the future, not only for the athletic program, but as well for the university itself to expand and become more nationally recognized.
“It is a very exciting time we are facing,” Athletics Director Lynn Hickey told the audience of students, faculty, staff and media at the announcement last Thursday. “Students get an opportunity to move our athletics program forward. It is a great opportunity and will improve competition, not only in football, but for every sport at UTSA.”
I believe she is correct. The opportunities that may come with the approval of the fee increase, such as introducing football at UTSA, are going to be major steps for the University and the Athletics Department. Moreover, the implementation of football will increase equity and build pride in our school. I am very excited for the future and the voting outcome really proves that students believe in school spirit. I only say: Let’s go Runners!
As a reminder, the women soccer team has two upcoming home matches. The first is scheduled on Friday against Delaware and the other is against Iona on Sunday. Also, the UTSA volleyball team travels to San Marcos on Thursday to meet Texas State for its first Southland Conference match of the year. Go out there and cheer for the Roadrunners. Talk to you in a couple weeks.