{"id":61367,"date":"2026-01-11T21:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T21:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=61367"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:05:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:05:56","slug":"performance-skills-for-high-level-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/performance-skills-for-high-level-flying\/","title":{"rendered":"Performance Skills for High-Level Flying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Elite performance practices that you can apply to skydiving, BASE, and tunnel flying<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Skydiving, BASE jumping, and tunnel flying haven\u2019t necessarily been culturally recognized as \u201csports\u201d in the same way other mainstream sports have. This makes it a bit easy to forget how truly demanding they are. Our sports are very high-level performance environments. We ask the mind and body to focus and perform while simultaneously managing all sorts of things like nerves, fear, and intense sensory input. All of this in just a few short moments of performance. This puts a heavy load of demands on our ability for attention, decision-making, and emotional regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is this isn\u2019t unique. Elite athletes across many sports are familiar with the same pressures, although maybe not at the edge of a cliff or a world record skydive. Sports psychology has decades of studying and research into what helps people perform well when under intense pressure. The same mental skills used by Olympian athletes, professional athletes, and other high performers are not only applicable to our sports, but they\u2019re something we can learn from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sharing three mental performance skills that are consistently found in sports psychology research, recognized by high-level performers across many fields and also things that I\u2019ve found to be helpful along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Jesse “Tex” Leos <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TIP #1: Focus on What You Can Control<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When we\u2019re under pressure, the nervous system tries to pay attention to a larger picture all at once. It lands in a heightened state, which is a physiological survival mode, scanning for threats, possibilities, outcomes. This is great for survival, not so great for honing focus for performance. Because of this, our reaction time slows, decision-making can become a bit foggy and less efficient, and errors can slip in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most reliable tools taught in sports psychology is what\u2019s referred to as \u201cattentional control\u201d or focusing on the things that you can control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than trying to manage the end result, athletes who practice this focus their attention towards a small set of variables that are totally within their control, such as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n