Practice Habits Before a Big Tournament

We’re in the heat of the season and although everyone out there doesn’t ski tournaments, it is important to have some good practice habits to prep for either a big tournament or really any performance based situation that creates a little performance anxiety.  Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

Anxiety-Revel in it!

I am of the firm opinion that if you don’t have a little case of the nerves, you just don’t care enough.  The key is to embrace this and use it as positive energy.  One way to get comfortable with this feeling is to take some oportunities to put yourself in practice situations that create performance anxiety.   There are a couple of things I think work pretty well:

1. Commit to due what we call a “Tournament Set”.  This means you start at your normal starting speed or line length and progress up to your max speed or into shorter line lengths with every successful pas, but if you miss or fall, stop.  Get in the boat.  Dry off.  If you love to ski, having to cut your set short definitely creates the anxiety your looking for.
2. Compete with your budies, family, training partners.  Establish every skier’s personal best and base a handicap system off of those scores.  Pride will takeover here and create anxiety as most people who find the challenge of the course to be quite enjoyable will also have a strong desire to win…but keep it light and fun

Build Confidence

Take some sets where you stick to passes you know to really create a sense of confidence in your technique and the feelings you have on your ski.  Boost your ego by doing it right!

Pre-Ski Routine

Spend more time before your sets gtting ready and getting dialed in like you should before your outing at the upcoming event.  Find a good routine that works for you and aloows you to enter the water with mental confidence and a body that’s ready to ride.

Stay Healthy

Don’t beat yourself up so bad in practice.  I am not saying you shouldn’t push yourself or that you should ski exceptionally carefully, but keep yourself in check.  Don’t take hits you don’t need to take and don’t throw your ski out around the buoy when you question whether or not you will hit the ball.  If Murphy’s law prevails injury is insanely possible.

Perhaps some of these ideas will help you find your peak performance in the coming weeks/month and allow you to put up personal bests in perormance situations.  Good luck to all of you and keep riding the water!!!

Seth Stisher

Tags: competition, slalom, tournament preparation, water ski event