Many Olympic champions have become motivational speakers. Gold-medal-winning swimmers Josh Davis and John Naber and gymnast Peter Vidmar, to name a few, offer to share their winning habits and visions. Most often, it seems, these champions speak at corporate functions.

Now, one Olympic gold medalist is helping kids prepare for their SATs.

A high school family and consumer arts teacher and ski coach in Vermont, Barbara Ann Cochran - the 1972 Olympic gold medalist in slalom - was asked by Elizabeth King, author of Outsmarting the SAT, to do a series of interviews on King's blog.

King heard of Cochran through a student at the Green Mountain Valley School, a ski-racing academy in Waitsfield, Vermont.

"This particular student had an incredible ability to 'turn it on' during testing scenarios and test in a way that reflected her ability and knowledge," King said via email. "I was always impressed by that and incredibly curious about how she had developed that tenacity."

So King emailed Cochran, who realized that her techniques could help students as well as athletes.

"There's a strong connection between mental prep that an athlete would go through compared to what a student getting ready for a test would do," says Cochran, who runs her own business, Golden Opportunities in Sports, in addition to teaching. She helps athletes - and now students - mentally prepare to perform at their best.

In the first Q&A with King, the author asks Cochran, "What are the top three most important things any athlete mentally preparing for an event should be doing?"

Cochran responds, "The most important thing is to understand what your beliefs are about that event and how you believe you can do. If you don't believe you're capable of doing well, it's really important that you change that belief so you do see yourself as capable."

How do you do this? Just like Al Franken's character Stuart Smalley did on Saturday Night Live: With positive affirmations ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!").

"For instance, if you're getting ready for the SAT and you don't believe you'll do well, you could use the affirmation, 'I always do well when I take the SAT!'" she tells King.

When working with athletes, Cochran has them write their affirmation statements on 10 to 15 index cards. They then post these cards wherever they will notice them - on the bathroom mirror, on their bureau, on their notebooks, etc.  

Cochran then recommends visualization. "Imagine as closely as possible where the event is taking place, what the conditions are like, who the people are that are around, what the sounds are like, what the smells are like," she tells King. "Try to include the five senses: Sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell. Imagine yourself competing in that event and finishing first or wherever you can imagine yourself finishing, incorporating as many of the senses as possible for the competition on that day."

Finally, Cochran recommends developing a routine before the competition or test-"from the time you get up to the time you're ready to begin your competition," she tells King. "At the start, you could have specific thoughts or a mantra. When I was competing, I always gave myself permission just to do my best, so I always thought, 'I'm just going to do the best I can!' 

"A lot of the athletes I've worked with use the thought, 'This is so much fun! I love [this test, this race, competing against racer X, etc.].

"I also recommend that they smile, because that helps to bring up the right emotions that help an athlete perform well."

So kids, smile as you sharpen your No. 2 pencils, and think like a champion.

Check out King's blog for more interviews with Cochran. The latest: what makes some people naturally good competitors, how people with good mental prep can defeat those with natural ability, and why some people freeze up on game day.

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