Bethany hamilton workout

Bryant University

Abstract

This application paper undertakes to elaborate various exercise and sport psychology aspects which are relative to the career of a well-known female surfer Bethany Hamilton. It looks at various aspects of her life, and how she applied certain sports psychology principals that helped her become a successful athlete and overcome numerous obstacles.

INTRODUCTION

Bethany Hamilton was born in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii on February 8 1990. She grew up with two older brothers Noah and Tim. All members of her family had a history and surfing and exposed Bethany to competitive surfing at age 8. Nature and Nurture both intended for her to become one the greatest athletes with her family’s support throughout the process. At age 9 Bethany received her first sponsorship by Rip Curl and by age 13, came second in the NSSA national championships in California.

On October 31st 2003 the water Bethany was lying on with her surf was gleaming and unruffled, what came next was a life changing event for her. She suddenly noticed something grab hold of her entire arm pulling her back and forth, until she saw a pool of red in the water realizing her arm was gone. Within no time the enormous 14ft Tiger shark disappeared into the deep waters. 13-year-old Bethany couldn’t fathom what had happed, as her friend slowly dragged her 200 yards using a surfboard leash. The shark bite was an extremely exasperating since she no longer had an arm; one of the most important tools for surfing. Bethany took it upon herself to change this notion and returned to the water just one month after the attack. The radical change in her body was difficult to adjust to, however, she showed astonishing recovery and a positive attitude. In an interview with ABC News, she mentions "Well, I think that I should just have a positive attitude toward things and the challenges coming up and if I have a bad attitude, then it's not really going to make it anything better. If I don't get back on my board, I'll be in a bad mood forever." This shows that she wasn't obligated to express that she could successfully bounce back, but most importantly for her own satisfaction. Bethany surfed for the love of the sport, surfing was in her blood, and she chose to outshine in the male-dominated sport.

Bethany began receiving a lot of support from her fans after returning to the waters. She used this opportunity to motivate others. Her father helped her get back into surfing, and her family was very supportive. She put her heart and soul into relearning how to surf as she mentions "the transition from two arms to one was far from easy". After one year of rigorous training, Bethany competed in the National Surfing Championship and won her first national trophy. There was no turning back for her she won several championships and began writing about her journey as a surfer. She was also awarded the Best Comeback Athlete by ESPY in 2004 and received the Courage Teen Choice award. Along with continued participation competitively and solely for pleasure MTV published her autobiography the same year called Soul Surfer: A true Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. She received a worthy response for her best-selling book and created a documentary of the book in 2007. In the documentary she talks highly about her faith and how it helped her overcome so many obstacles as a teenager and after the release she claimed that her determination began to decline. She married Adam Dirks in August 2013 and announced that she was pregnant in 2015. Her husband encouraged Bethany to surf competitively and bring her spark back, just one year after their marriage she won the Pipelines Women’s Pro Competition.

RECOVERY AND ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

Bethany Hamilton’s incident of a shark attack was the last thing a surfer could expect while surfing, she lost one of the very significant body part used for the sport. Losing an arm is not only frustrating for an athlete but also difficult to deal with during teenage years, where people are still learning about their bodies. The highest rates of issues related to body image occur during the teen and early adulthood years. However, Bethany was very motivated towards her goal and had a strong sense of self, she was unstoppable despite the harsh circumstances. She claims that her faith in god was something that helped her stay motivated even before the shark attack. Her confidence in god made her believe that everything that was happening to her happened for a bigger and much greater reason. It took the load off her shoulders and lowered her stress levels.