I just returned from Zermatt where I spent a week working with a group of highly ranked U.S. tech skiers. After a few days, the feedback I was getting from them was that I was really getting into their heads and causing them to think a lot, in fact, to a few of them, a bit too much.

This wasn’t a surprise to me as I hear this frequently. Between my on-snow mental skills work with them, one-on-one sessions, team talks (in which we discussed a relevant ski racing or life topic each evening), and daily imagery sessions, the athletes were getting their minds stuffed with the mental side of ski racing. I was definitely making them think more than they were accustomed. But that is, in fact, my job: to get the athletes I work with uncomfortable, push them outside of what they are used to, and think about things that will take them to the next level. Yes, admittedly, it can feel a bit overwhelming and even irritating at first, but after a few days, they got used to it and figured out how to incorporate my approach into their usual training regimen.

There is a great lesson here for all aspiring ski racers and coaches. Far from being a bad thing, being inside your head and getting yourself to think during the summer prep period is exactly what you should do. Whether psychological, physical, technical, tactical, or equipment, now is the time for you to think seriously and devote a great deal of mental energy to your preparation. For coaches, now is the time to really break down your athletes’ skiing and then rebuild it so that it will be better and faster.

The summer is the ideal time to think a lot because there is no pressure to get ready for races which involves an entirely different mindset and focus. The off-season is the time when there are no worries or distractions about results, points, quotas, or qualifying. This time frame is all about improvement. And to make the most progress in any and all areas of your skiing, you need to think a lot about your skiing.

You want to analyze your strengths and weaknesses. You want to examine carefully your physical conditioning and make changes that will result in greater physical strength, power, and agility come winter. You want to break down your technique and tactics and focus on the changes you need to make to continue to ski better and faster. And, yes, you want to get inside your head and ensure that you are getting mentally stronger as well.

Why so much thinking about ski racing now? So when the snow flies in the fall and your race season approaches, you will have done all of the “heavy lifting” necessary and you can stop thinking, clear your mind, and just focus on thing: going as fast as you can.

Your goal during the off-season is to learn effective skills and habits—physical, technical, tactical, and mental—so completely that when you are in your late fall prep period and when you begin racing everything is so deeply ingrained that you can go on autopilot and allow your mind and body to do exactly what you have trained it to do, which is to ski as fast as you can. The outcome of all of that thinking during the summer will have a big payoff, namely, great skiing and the results you want most in the biggest races of next season.