merry xmas (:

best 2 water training i've had in 14 months (:

finally got my old technique back

the morning paddle was interesting. was on my way back, then suddenly heard some pple shouting "merry xmas!". I turned and saw 3 kids waving and cheering by their pebble bay condominium balconey. waved back at them, then they went "YAY!"

haha

(:

by some strange turn of events, things are going well again

interesting

two more papers to go

it's that time of the year again, december

last yr was fun, winter training (: like belle said, no need to worry about anything, just train. The early morning runs, mountain runs, afternoon mountain runs, swimming in the indoor pool, weights at the shaolin of kayaking, ergometer and coach's special machine, walking in -4 degrees to lunch/dinner at the underground cavern, realising the toilet window wasn't shut properly when it started snowing inside...

well, on the other hand, getting to spend the last weeks of the year on water is nice too (:

ok, faster finish exams, chiong ureca, and happy training (:

29th, 30th jan. comeback

found a nice place to do winter trg mountain run (:

life is back (:

"hell yea, giving up isnt easy"

i think i'm back

back to start again

Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective
CHRIS LONSDALE1, KEN HODGE2, & ELAINE ROSE2
1Irish Rugby Football Union and School of Physiotherapy and Performance Science, University College Dublin,
Dublin, Ireland and 2School of Physical Education, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
(Accepted 27 March 2009)

Athlete burnout is a maladaptive psychological outcome
sometimes associated with sport participation
(Smith, 1986). Consequently, preventing, or at least
minimizing, the occurrence of burnout has been
viewed as an important issue in the sport psychology
literature (Eklund & Cresswell, 2007; Goodger,
Gorely, Harwood, & Lavallee, 2007).More recently, researchers have given support
to Raedeke’s (1997) definition of athlete burnout
as a syndrome characterized by: (i) emotional and
physical exhaustion; (ii) sport devaluation; and (iii) a
reduced sense of accomplishment (e.g. Cresswell &
Eklund, 2006b; Raedeke, Lunney, & Venables,
2002). This symptom-based definition provides a
means by which the potential causes and consequences
of burnout, such as illness, injury, and
dropout (Cresswell & Eklund, 2003), can be examined.

Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) has
been advocated as a promising theoretical lens
through which to examine the potential antecedents
of athlete burnout (Cresswell & Eklund, 2005a,
2005b, 2005c; Hodge, Lonsdale, & Ng, 2008;
Lemyre, Treasure, & Roberts, 2006; Perreault,
Gaudreau, Lapointe, & Lacroix, 2007). In their basic
needs theory, a sub-theory of self-determination
theory, Deci and Ryan (2000) proposed that humans
have basic psychological needs for competence,
autonomy, and relatedness. Within the sport context,
competence refers to a perception that one is able to
be effective in one’s sport. Autonomy involves
feelings of volition, choice, and self-directedness,
while relatedness refers to perceptions of connectedness
with others. When these needs are satisfied,humans are expected to experience optimal wellbeing (e.g. subjective vitality; Ryan & Frederick,
1997). Conversely, the thwarting of needs is thought
to lead to expressions of ill-being (e.g. burnout;
Perreault et al., 2007).

Competence, autonomy, and athletes’ overall levels
of self-determined motivation accounted for significant
amounts of variance in all three athlete burnout
symptoms, with self-determined motivation fully
mediating the effect of competence and autonomy
on exhaustion and devaluation symptoms and
partially mediating the needs satisfaction–reduced
sense of accomplishment association. As a result,
sport environments that promote needs satisfaction,
appear likely to promote more self-determined
motivation and prevent athlete burnout.

Researchers have indicated that coaching
behaviours that promote athlete decision making
(e.g. Hollembeak & Amorose, 2005), autonomysupportive
coaching behaviours (Gagne´ et al., 2003),
and a task/mastery motivational climate (e.g. Reinboth
& Duda, 2006) are related to greater
perceptions of needs satisfaction and self-determined
motivation. Therefore, based on the results of the
current study and others (Hodge et al., 2008;
Perreault et al., 2007), it is plausible that interventions
designed to promote these coaching behaviours
may result in decreased likelihood of athlete burnout.

The year's coming to a close, and this was one of the most difficult years (more to come yea!). many missed opportunities, too many almosts. but after all this i know i've come out a stronger person. better? haha, we'll see. but definitely wiser. last 2 months especially were the toughest. been through the whole cycle and all, and the best way is still to take on your fears head on. so enough of the what-could-have-beens, and now to follow my heart.

follow my heart. nice phrase that i've not used in awhile.

you're right, "hell yea, giving up isnt easy"

What if you believe?