Don’t fear Radka! Chief Learning Officer of SportMind is despite her pile of achieved degrees a kind and supportive person with a really interesting job

If you are not overawed by the pile of degrees at her name, you can meet a pleasant and smiling sports psychologist Radka.  Her job is so interesting, varied, and for many uninformed ones perhaps even ungraspable. As the person responsible for the education of SportMind consultants and psychologists, she can explain to you why your head sometimes fails at some important times, it is unable to concentrate, or other know-how of the SportMind diagnostics which can improve the performance of sportspeople.

Radka manages the network of SportMind consultants, helps with the mental training of sportspeople or reveals some secrets of our diagnostics at expert conferences. Her interesting and demanding work is balanced by active sport – whether alone, with her husband, a professional coach, or her children.

At your work, you are devoted to support both professional and novice sportspeople. So, what’s your relationship to the sport?

My relationship to the sport is a positive one. It’s been accompanying me for all my life. I‘ve never pursued the sport at the top level, but maybe that’s why I had scope for more types of activities. I have been doing cross-country skiing as a child. Then I went dancing, made music, etc. Now it’s jogging, skiing, swimming, and hiking, which are my form of active relaxation, even if it hurts sometimes. Sport constantly surrounds me mainly because of my family. Children are actively engaged in cross-country skiing and biathlon. My husband is a former top sportsman, currently a coach.

As a coach, he surely often faces the need to work with the “mindset” of his charges. How does he take your job?

He knows that in the professional sport, psychological support is already a common part of the preparation in the world. It is very important, however, even in childhood and especially in adolescence. These are the categories that he is now devoted to. My husband also uses SportMind. He gives me feedback as he sees it as a coach from his point of view. It’s our common topic.

Well, what is the job of SportMind consultant?

To provide a long-term systematic support to sportspeople, coaches, and possibly even to their families; to accompany them through their sporting and personal lives. It is also possible to provide one-off comprehensive consultations to individuals. The form of consultation is either personal, by phone, Skype, or by email; just as needed. I prefer having a personal consultation somewhere outside. I like to take a bicycle and meet in a forest, for example, where there are peace and no people.

What would you say that sportspeople gain from the contact with you?

Another view of themselves, of their surroundings and of the situations in which they get into. The SportMind diagnostic outputs help me with it. It’s like setting up a mirror to them to see who they really are. I try to be true and authentic to people, which is not always easy – especially for them.

How do you feel during the races/contests of people whose profiles you consult?

Of course, I’m watching everything. But I’m not nervous. I know that in the given race/match and at the given moment, they must manage it on their own. I can give them support before or after, but when they are on track or in the match, it’s up to them.

You get “in the heads” of many sportspeople. Is there something that all the sportspeople face, or what do you most solve with them? Any recommendations about it?

We cannot say that everyone is dealing with the same things, but perhaps similar ones. From sporting topics, training, performance, etc., we always get into personal life, relationships and childhood. There is, in my opinion, the basis of everything. In the context of self-reflection and corrective communication, it is appropriate to clean, settle, and understand these areas.

And what about you? Can you use SportMind’s know-how and “set” your own head before an important event?

The question is, what’s the really important event for me? How do I handle demanding and stressful situations in my personal or professional life? It depends on which ones and when. Professionally, it is usually without any problems. In my personal life, I am always surprised by something. But every situation moves me somewhere. It’s always about my current settings and the circumstances I’m in. Of course, this is often affected by my experience in many situations. However, for some situations, you cannot be prepared. I act according to my feelings, I am with myself, here and now.