Why Canada is winning so much at the Pan Am Games

Why is Canada winning so much at the Pan Am Games?

Some might say it's the home field advantage. Some say it's weak competition. But almost mid-way through the Pan Am Games,team Canada has won more medals than any other country. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, director of sport psychology at the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba,says there's more to it than all that.

Here's an edited and abridged transcript of her interview with the CBC's Conrad Collaco. Read the transcript here or listen to the full audio interview by clicking the image at the top of this page.

Adrienne Leslie-Toogood: Dir. of Sport Psychology, Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba

Q: Our athletes are competing at home. How important do you think that is, psychologically?

Going in to the Vancouver Olympic Games Canada we recognized that we needed to do a better job of taking harnessing the home field advantage. If you look at the history of the Olympic Games every country that hosted it had a boost in performance. Canada actually under-performed when we hosted the Olympic Games. No other country had done that. Going into Vancouver we wanted to be better at helping our athletes deal with that pressure and have their best performance in that circumstance. In the Pan Am Games we have continued that.

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Q: What did we do wrong in the preparation for previous Olympic and Pan Am competitions?

We didn't do a great job talking about the pressure of important, international competitions and we didn't give athletes the tools to deal with that pressure. Now we're bringing in other athletes who have had success. The COC brought in Marnie McBean and many others to help our athletes to have confidence they can perform on the international stage. In general, we are investing more in making sure our athletes have access to the same resources as their competition.

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Q: What do great athletes do better in the way they think that separates them from the rest of us?

They are honest with themselves about what distracts them. They think about what throws them off. They think about how they want to respond if that happens. They visualize how they want to respond if that happens so that when it happens they are resilient performers. The biggest mistake we make is we jump to imagery and self talk without really thinking about who you want to be first. Those consistent performers are clear about who they want to be. It's easier to pretend like your good and say 'I just had a bad day.' It's tougher to say 'I'm too worked up right now. I need to calm myself down.' It takes a lot of confidence to be able to do that.

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Q: Any last bits of advice for Canadians who still have to perform at Pan Am?

This is a unique opportunity. Many generations of athletes never had the chance to perform in front of their home fans in international competition. Love it. Savour it. They have worked really hard. Think also about how you want to feel at the end of the competition. It can help you dig deep to get what you need to perform.

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