PREPARING for MEET

Hope You all are enjoying your spring break.  It was good to see so many of you Florida bound swimmers at practice yesterday.

STROKE SPOTLIGHT

  We thought we would take a break and touch on a DQ that in my opinion is very judgmental and really does not offer a advantage to you, the swimmer.  The backstroke finish.  

Has it ever happen to you?

MEET PREPARATION

Sometimes preparing for the meet is as important as the meet itself, but coach isn't that what we do at practice everyday?   Yes and No.  We try to take care of the physical, in the water stuff, working on techniques and going through actual race strategy but what about the mental side. A few things that mighty help you when preparing for a meet;

•  know the events your swimming-- Simple enough you say but I am always amazed how many swimmers show up to a meet without a clue as to what they are swimming or the order of events.  How can you be mentally prepared to succeed without this basic information.  TAKE OWNERSHIP
• familiarize yourself with the meet and the setup so that there won't be any surprises.  Meet sheets, timelines, boy/girl side, warmup/warmdown pools.  There is a ton off information that coaches put out for you to make it as simple as we can. Quick fact you are one but many times coaches have 20,30 or more of you, so again TAKE OWNERSHIP. if you have a question ask us.
• Set some goals for the meet-- it's simple to say something along the lines of "I want to go a best time or I want to break the 57.00 barrier in 100 free.  That is all good but it is easy to say.  A better goal is to say how you are going to accomplish those 2 things.  It gives you specifics to work with and to follow through on.
• Visualize your race-- close your eyes and walk through each 25 and 50 of your race.  From the start to the breakout, into your turns and finally the finish.  Play a game and time yourself and see how close to your time you can get to.
• Remind yourself that you can do it-- too many times I believe athletes talk themselves down by thinking and repeating to themselves all the things that they can't do or that will go wrong.  You all do know that if you keep saying and repeating those things it will eventually become reality.  So, while we are down in Florida and as you step up onto the block, TAKE OWNERSHIP and say these four powerful words to yourself, " WHY NOT ME TODAY".

Sometimes things do go wrong and it becomes incredibly easy to become negative and it can put a damper on your attitude. We Get It.  Instead of throwing yourself a pity party seek out a trusted teammate or your coach and let them know you are struggling, often we can get you headed back in the right direction.  Have the courage to keep stepping up and trying.

Anyway Happy Swimming and here is a short video that might put all of this in perspective.  Enjoy!