The 3 on 3 is tomorrow, as the organizer and a huge fan of sport and competition this is one of my favourite moments of the year. After competing for 30 years in sport I though I would share some thoughts with all the athletes to help alleviate some stress.
Nutrition - This is a big one and one that I get asked about a lot. First off, your body will have enough glycogen stores from the day prior to meet the energy requirements for the first two WODS. The problem I generally notice is people not eating after the first two WODS and then running out of energy later on in the later afternoon. So please, do yourself a favour and eat around 300-500 calories after the first WOD and again after the third. This will ensure that if you make the semi-finals and finals you’ll still have plenty in the tank. As well don’t introduce anything new into your diet, now is not the time to experiment,
Control what you can control - If you have some control over it then manage it. Sleep, recovery, nutrition, effort, clothing, are all things that you have within your control. So plan and focus on all of those. Be meticulous with anything that you have control over.
Things you can’t control: your opponents, the WODs, the equipment being used, the judges, the weather. As such don’t waste time fretting about any of it. You only have so much mental and physical energy available so use it wisely.
No rep! Nobody wants to hear those dreaded words “No rep!’”, but it will happen. Don’t argue, just perform another rep with better form and more precision. I watched the CF Games and saw Matt Fraser get a dozen no reps on a KB shoulder to overhead movement. He barely flinched, kept working, and still won the competition.
Support each other - Your team will have moments of brilliance and moments where you will struggle. It’s easy to get along well when things are going favourably. The top teams are the ones that perform well despite setbacks and challenges. When the proverbial wheels fall off, come together and find a better way forward, you will learn more from your defeats then your wins.
Finally, by the time next Saturday rolls around, almost no one will remember who won or lost. Think I’m wrong? How many people can tell me who lost the Super Bowl two years ago? The truth is we are all so focus on our own lives that we assume that what we believe is important to us is important to others. It’s not. So relax have fun, and go crush it!
-Coach