Biography

My name is Lexi van der Woude, and I am a senior at Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia. I have been riding horses my whole life and have been fortunate enough to grow up in a family deeply rooted and involved in horses. Along with being an equestrian, I have played many different sports growing up, all of which, I experienced the impacts that my own brain can have on my personal athletic performance. It is because of my interest in this field that I decided to research the importance of sports psychology within the equestrian sport. I enjoyed learning about how mental preparation for a sporting event is just as important as the physical, and the tools to use in order to mentally prepare including visualization, self-talk, and breathing techniques. As we continue to learn about the brain, science will progress in this field with an even greater understanding of sports psychology!