Going into REDI Lab at the start of the trimester, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was that I wanted to do something focused on engineering. But after the first pitch, I was already starting to shift away from that. As the trimester went on, I found myself leaning more toward sports psychology. Through conversations with peers and the feedback I received, my thinking started to change. I began focusing on something that felt more personal and that could matter to more people. Instead of building a tool for archery, I started thinking about how I could use archery to show why the mental side of sports really matters.
So, what caused such a big shift in my project? I realized it was because of my own experience in archery. Mental performance turned out to be a huge part of whether I did well or not. I didn’t always think that way. I grew up playing team sports and never really thought much about the mental part of competing. I never followed any routines or prepared mentally, and things still seemed to go fine. So I assumed it would be the same for archery.
That assumption was completely wrong. My scores started to drop, and I’d get stuck in my own head during competitions. That constant pressure made me enjoy it less and less. After a particularly rough performance at a national tournament in California, I finally decided to work with my coach on how to mentally prepare. That ended up helping a lot, and I started doing better and enjoying the sport again.
Because of that experience, I wanted to find a way to share how important mental performance is in sports. At first, I thought about using AI to build something athletes could use, but then I realized most people probably wouldn’t go out of their way to try it. If someone doesn’t already think the mental side of sports is important, they’re not going to suddenly start using a tool for it. That’s what pushed me to take a different route. I figured the better option was to show the importance of mental performance through archery itself.
Archery works well for this because it’s an individual sport and puts a lot of pressure on the athlete. There’s nothing to hide behind. That pressure really highlights how much your mindset matters. And since archery is also fairly accessible, it felt like a good way to connect with more people and get the message across.
As I worked through the trimester, I started doing more research into sports psychology in general. One thing that stood out to me was how important it is to start teaching these skills early. It helps kids understand consequences and build self-control. That’s why I ended up designing my activity for youth athletes. If they can start learning these tools early on, they’re less likely to ignore them later when things get tougher.
At the beginning ofthe trimester, I never would’ve guessed this is where my project would end up. But that’s part of what made REDI Lab so valuable for me. I was able to explore different ideas, rethink my approach, and learn about something I probably wouldn’t have looked into otherwise.
