Hanging with junior sailors in San Diego
Hi all!
It’s been just a couple of weeks since the announcement of my partnership with 11th Hour Racing and it’s already been exciting and busy!
In the middle of February I had the great opportunity to be in San Diego, California for the weekend, joining an amazing group of junior sailors, both on and off the water, from the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC).
Having the chance to meet and get involved with the next generation of sailors is always motivating and the SDYC asked me to share with the young adults my experience in the sport - both the challenges and the strategies I adopt to overcome hard times.
So often, the focus is on the results - the final achievement - but in my career I have found that focusing on the small steps and the journey you are on, pays off more. For me, it takes the pressure off focusing on a high or low number on a leaderboard, and highlights the path to getting there. Improving starts, maneuvers, how you train, how you build and maintain strength - every little detail will in the end make the final result more achievable.
Francesca (third left) hanging out with junior sailors from San Diego Yacht Club
We had incredible conditions on the water sailing in San Diego and we were able to spend almost eight hours on the water across both days - not bad compared to how they sold me the San Diego wind conditions can be!
After each day I had the honor to present a keynote and talk about sailing (of course!) and the path to success from being a junior sailor myself to representing Italy at the Olympic Games, and then my transition into offshore sailing.
One of the best questions I got was “If you could go back to the 15 year old version of yourself what would you change?” With a little bit of introspection, I knew that the answer had to be ‘the mental aspect’.
Growing up I never prioritized the mental game of our sport. I was great at working hard in the gym, training on the water, resting, recovering, and organizing my schedule but I never focused enough on how nervous I was during racing and how much that was affecting me and my wellbeing.
When I started out 20 years ago, mental health of course affected us all, but no one was talking about it - it was just never discussed, not between the sailors, nor with our coaches or our families. I’m really pleased that there are a lot of external resources youth athletes today can find to help them - a couple that I have found are Athletes for Hope and the Women’s Sport Foundation We Play Interactive, both of which have accessible resources. Have you found any that you have found particularly useful? Let us know and we’ll share with our community.
Classroom sessions with the junior sailors
I always come home from these types of events meeting the next generation feeling that these young sailors give me so much more than what I gave them. They always come with eyes and ears open, with huge passion and motivation for improving their performance, and importantly great questions that make me dig deep for the answers.
A big shout to the San Diego Yacht Club and J.J. Fetter for creating a safe, open, and accessible environment to let the sailors grow, learn, and become not only better sailors but better humans. We all need more of this!