Remember the Duck!

One of the most difficult things for an athlete to do is to maintain their focus and emotional control when events, out of their control, get in their way. This is a very frustrating experience and it happens a lot – both in sport and in life.

I can’t really think of any area of my life where I haven’t experienced some kind of obstacle which prevents me from achieving my goal. Usually with a lot of hard work and some perseverance, it’s possible to overcome the obstacle. However, frustration sets in when that obstacle is out of my control. One example that I experience quite frequently is while driving on busy highways and city streets. I have no control what other drivers do but the decisions they make (e.g., changing lanes without signalling) affect me. It makes my blood boil and I’m sure I’m not alone with this. When this happens to me – when I feel like my anger is going to affect the way I drive my car, I think to myself “Remember the Duck”!

For athletes, examples of those difficult to deal with obstacles are many and easy to find. You see them all the time in media coverage of professional sports. The frustrated baseball manager screaming at the umpire. The unnecessary penalties taken at inopportune times – costing the team the game. Hot buttons for most athletes are poor calls from game officials, cheating by opponents, and play calls or tactical decisions made by coaches. These are all out of your control but can prevent you from reaching your goals.

Most athletes deal with these frustrations in one of two ways. First, and this is what we see most often on TV, the athlete loses focus on their task and begins to focus on the obstacle, eventually losing their emotional control and making poor decision after poor decision. A prime example was Andy Roddick at this year’s US Open. He was called for a foot fault during an early round match against a lower ranked opponent. He believed that the call was wrong (it wasn’t) and lost focus and control. After berating the line person, Roddick proceeded to drop the next series of points and then the set, followed by the match – an early exit by a top seed.

The second way some athletes deal with the frustrations is to quit working. They give up. You don’t see this that often in the media because to get to professional or collegiate sports the athletes generally have a high level of stick-to-itiveness. However, you see this a lot in youth sport and adult recreational competitions. These athletes choose to stop trying to achieve their goal to reduce their frustration. If you no longer have a goal, then you can’t be prevented from reaching it. No frustration. Very poor performance.

So bringing this back to my own driving example, what does “Remember the Duck” have to do with dealing with frustrations? This is all about composure. It’s about maintaining control over your emotions and staying task focused in the most trying of circumstances. Being able to regulate your response to the frustrations will give you an advantage over your competition. An edge they don’t have. It will also prevent road rage and make for a more peaceful drive home.

A duck epitomizes composure. When you look at a duck swimming on a pond, what you see is a calm, cool animal, gliding effortlessly across the water surface. That’s what the duck shows the world. That’s what you need to show the world – focused and in complete control. Now if you were to look at that same duck from underwater, what you see is an animal working like mad to get where it’s going. It’s feet are paddling like crazy. That’s the duck’s secret. You as an athlete need to keep working underneath your calm and cool exterior. You don’t quit. That’s your secret.

I use “Remember the Duck” as a trigger or mantra to remind myself that if I continue to worry about things that are out of my control, I will not be focussing on what I should be worrying about (some aspect of my performance) and I will be letting my opponent control me through my emotions. When I start to feel frustrated I visualize myself as the duck. Moving smoothly and silently across the pond. Knowing that no one knows my secret. That I’m working like mad to reach my goal. I’m focused. I’m in control. I never give up.

When you feel your frustration building and your blood about to boil. Stop. Take a deep breath. And, Remember the Duck!

If you can keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs, and blaming you. The world will be yours and everything in it, what’s more, you’ll be a man, my son.
-Rudyard Kipling