Beyond the Eyes of High

Performance Athlete
Julia Cotton Monday, December 20, 2021

Pressure, a threat or
motivation?
High-Performance athletes often
face powerful pressures which can
lead to vulnerability and stress.
Some excel under pressure and
scrutiny, while for others it
becomes too much to handle.
Detroit Redwings Prospect, WHL
Vancouver Giants defenceman Alex
Cotton suggests that the pressure
can be “both motivating and
draining”. A common trait for high-
Alex Cotton
performance athletes is the ability
to hold focus and concentration,
even in stressful and high pressure situations. “ Just don’t even think about it. Who
cares what some people say, you know what you do well so continue to do that and
sometimes in certain cases you'll be able to use someone's negativity for your own
game.” - Cotton’s advice to upcoming elite athletes on filtering the outside noise.

Langley’s Cotton was drafted by the Detroit Redwings in the 2020 NHL draft. Which is
a part of almost every young hockey player's dream. From the outside looking in, the
pressure inflated. Cotton was able to turn it into motivation and highlight the
significance of learning from peers. “ My first two years in the WHL I was around
other drafted and highly touted players. So I got to see how they handled the pressure
from places like the media and coaches”
We can see even through a screen, the level of compete a high performance athlete
has, and how resilient they can be. Although, they are just as likely if not more likely
to experience mental health issues. Not only is it physically demanding, but
emotionally and mentally as well. Being a professional athlete is viewed as a dream
job, though it is a job like no other. “Yeah obviously super high level of sacrifice.
Examples being like moving away from home at a young age into a completely
different family, different home. Or when you think back to when you were a young
kid and you think about the friends that you had … and you realize
that you literally have like nobody left from that time in your life
still. The reason being is hockey in the way that you’d have to leave
for hockey tournaments and other hockey activities, even for
training.” says Cotton who first started hockey at four years old.

On a journey that results in a dream comes inevitable sacrifice. The

reality of how what seems like endless sacrifice can affect one’s
mental health is more likely to be negative rather than positive.
Having an outlet and someone to talk to is essential, even if you
don’t always want to talk. Cotton who faces stress daily being an
athlete says “... like an assistant coach or like a trainer that you’re
around a lot that you can talk to about pressure situations”. The
power of perseverance, positive thinking, and willingness to challenge yourself
combined with work ethic will help guide you to becoming the best athlete you can be.

Beyond the Eyes of High Performance Athlete