Mind training for Olympic surfer
The deep end
Ella Williams’ brother Braedon was facing one of those tricky Christmas present decisions for his younger sibling — what do you give a surfer who works in a surf shop?
He came up with an inspired choice that might prove crucial to Williams’ chances of success at the Tokyo Olympics, where she and Billy Stairmand will be New Zealand’s representatives when surfing makes its Games debut.
A voucher for a training session with Dave Wood at Woodys Movement Workshop has developed into a partnership that sees Williams at her fittest and mentally energised, for her biggest assignment since winning the 2013 world junior championship.
Wood, a first-response intensive care paramedic, trained lifeguard and a slick surfer himself, has quickly forged a niche in the sports fitness scene since setting up his workshop two years ago.
He has worked steadily with MMA superstar Israel Adesanya and Auckland’s growing stable of UFC fighters at City Kickboxing, as well as other elite surfers, including Stairmand and Elliot Paerata-Reid. He also trains plenty of weekend warriors.
Working on the pillars of performance breathing, the mental game, movement, and recovery, Wood takes athletes out of their comfort zones and teaches them how to stay calm in pressure situations, as well as tuning the relevant parts of their bodies. Lengthy ice baths, weighted pool immersions, flexibility and weight resistance exercises are central.
‘‘It literally just blossomed,’’ Whangamata-based Williams said of working with Wood.
‘‘He has so much knowledge.
Dave is such a down-to-earth real person, that’s why I think I really connected with him.
‘‘We’ve been doing some really cool stuff, working on breathing and calming ourselves under pressure. We all get pressure, it’s how we deal with it. Dave gives us the tools to deal with it better.’’
Piha-based Wood uses the natural surroundings for much of the work, with the beach’s black sand dunes dominant.
It’s been the perfect addition for Williams in a year when her international competition travels have been curtailed, allowing her unexpected time to work on areas to complement her surfing.
‘‘I’m feeling really fit and healthy, probably the fittest I have been. I’ve had so much time to focus on all of that. Normally I would be travelling, and when you are on the road it is hard to fit in this side as well as the sport that you are doing.’’
Wood has been impressed by the fierce athlete that lurks behind Williams’ ever-present smile and bubbly personality. He’d like to see that emerge in her performance and persona.
‘‘Underneath what you see on the periphery, Ella is a beast,’’ Wood told the Sunday Star-Times.
‘‘At her last camp, she stayed for four days and did three to four sessions of training a day. Not once did she bat an eyelid. She was fully focused and absorbed all of it.
‘‘The mental side of it for her, is being able to express what is actually going on in her thoughts and feelings, and that will have a ripple over effect into her surfing.’’
Wood says perceived negatives can be turned into positives for athletes desperate to gain that extra percentage of performance.
‘‘Stress is actually good. We need stress and when you expose yourself to stress, it boosts your immune function, it improves your overall health,’’ Wood, with his background in health science, explained.
‘‘We only have two options. One is to use it to your advantage, the other is to let it affect you. When your mindset is right, like ‘I’m going to use everything to my advantage, good or bad’, then that becomes pretty powerful.’’
Wood felt Williams and Stairmand were in unusual positions in the Olympic team with surfing’s inclusion sure to bring a new audience and added pressures.
‘‘For them going over to Tokyo, it’s going to be something unique, something not dealt with before. It will be quite high pressure, representing New Zealand and their families at this new level.
‘‘If you don’t address that, it can create a lot of pressure. That’s good, you need that pressure, but if the anxiety and pressure is there, and you don’t have the tools to better control it, well, it’s going to put you off your game.
‘‘It’s working with them to better understand it. If you don’t understand something it’s always going to be a bit scary — when you understand what’s happening, you’ve got a lot more control.’’
For Williams, there has also been the pure joy of surfing amongst her new learnings. Wave-rich New Zealand has produced some stellar conditions through spring and early winter and she and Stairmand have lapped it up.
‘‘I’ve had a lot of water time. I’m really happy with that, and Billy has too. I think we’ve both enjoyed the time being at home.’’
She has also had input from leading Kiwi coach Matty Scorringe who will accompany the pair to Japan. There will be 20 competitors in the men’s and women’s fields from July 25-28.
‘‘Ella is a beast . . . at her last camp she stayed for four days and did three to four sessions a day. Not once did she bat an eyelid.’’
Fitness coach Dave Wood