PREPARATION FOR COMPETITION

Nutrition
Athletes are encouraged to eat a balanced diet and to drink at least eight glasses of water each day. They are also encouraged to avoid large comsumption of fast foods, especially greasy and salty items and carbonated and caffeinated drinks such as Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew and coffee.

Rest

Two days before a competition it is very important for proper rest and nutrition. Lack of sleep on Wednesday night can have a major impact on your Friday night performance. Also, if you are training in other sports during the season, please inform the coaches so adjustments can be made to your workouts.

Physical Preparation
The training schedule is divided into three phases as athletes move from conditioning to competition. The first phase is conditioning and the goal of this phase is to build the core strength of the athlete through weight training, running, stretching and through ab work. The second phase is more specific toward the event as training begins to focus more on the work that is needed for that athlete to complete in a specific event. This is done through drills and repetition. The final phase is a tapering phase in which the athlete's workouts are cut back to allow for more rest and allow the athlete to feel more refreshed when competing.

Mental Preparation
This is often the most overlooked part of competition, but in many cases can be the most important as the athlete with the toughest mentally will often defeat someone who may be stronger physically, but lacks mental toughness. Top athletes learn the importance of visualization before competition as they often see themselves competing before the event begins. Olympic athletes will often talk about how they visualize all aspects of their event, form, technique, or pace. For example, Dwight Stones, one time American record holder in the high jump, could be seen watching himself approach the high jump before he made his attempt. As a spectator, you could watch his eyes move across the approach and into the pit before he began his actual approach. This is one of the most important phases, but it is a phase that is often ignored by high school athletes.