Competition 1: Pre-competition Prep

Coach  Amanda Miles – Basketball – Markham

“Leading up to competition I do 3 things: The first is review what they already know, focus on the offence and defense and get in some repetition to try to build that muscle memory (I do not teach them new things in the week before a competition).

The second thing I do (usually the practice before the competition) is have fun. Work on fundamentals through games that they played as kids, ball tag, shooting competitions. Things to decrease the stress from the players and remind them why they play basketball.

The third is have them set a goal for that competition. Something attainable that will allow them to measure their progress. I make sure they create goals that are more challenging that during the last competition to push themselves.”

Coach  Leilani Torres – Synchronized Swimming – Puerto Rico – 19 Years

“I would do a lot of simulations of the competition and make it as real as possible for the swimmers. Exhibitions or training’s with the suits and make-up on. I would also do a team building exercise of trust to strengthen the swimmers connection to each other.”

Coach  Joe Benedetti – Softball – Hamilton

“A week before the competition, have a somewhat formal meeting to take a few minutes to remind your athletes of the importance of the upcoming event in your competition calendar. Provide as detailed a schedule and itinerary to help the athletes to start to visualize and mentally prepare how they will travel, compete and rest appropriately.

The 2 or 3 training sessions before the event should simulate, as closely as possible the skills and strategies the athletes will perform. Finally, anything can happen at a competition, and it usually does, so coaches should have a “no surprises” attitude in order to help the athletes manage and deal with any distractions that may adversely affect their performance.

A good policy is: “No Complaints – No Excuses”, so coaches should prepare and plan in as much detail as possible in order to do their job, that is to prepare their athletes to succeed.

Lastly, it is not always ALL about the competition, if there is time in between events, maybe the team, or individuals can plan a short trip, as a distraction and to take in some of the local sites…”

Coach Bruce Parker – Australian Football – Toronto – 10 Years

“Discuss the previous match, cover what didn’t work, no more than 3 points and how we can improve on it. Highlight 3 positives. Structure the practices to work on the 3 points needing work as discussed previously.”