I was just wondering what you guys do for pre-meet jitters. I'm going to my second Master's Meet April 10 & 11th in Lexington, KY. I'm swimming my first backstroke events at this meet. Since I never was an age grouper, high school, or college swimmer, I tend to get really nervous the closer to a meet that I get. It's getting so bad this time, that it's getting to the point that I'm not having fun anymore. I've also started to dread going to practice and just swimming in general. Do any of you have advice? Any help would be appreciated.
I was just wondering what you guys do for pre-meet jitters. I'm going to my second Master's Meet April 10 & 11th in Lexington, KY. I'm swimming my first backstroke events at this meet. Since I never was an age grouper, high school, or college swimmer, I tend to get really nervous the closer to a meet that I get. It's getting so bad this time, that it's getting to the point that I'm not having fun anymore. I've also started to dread going to practice and just swimming in general. Do any of you have advice? Any help would be appreciated.
I think there's some very good advice here for getting rid of the jitters using different mental approaches and breathing exercises. A physical approach that has worked for me in the past was getting into the warm up lane/pool just a few minutes before my race and swimming a very easy 50 or 100. It seemed to take just enough of the edge off, without completely erasing the good part of that excitement most of us feel before a race.
I'd also urge you to swim these preliminary meets before nationals. Practicing racing is important, and it will allow you to work on a pre-race routine that is successful for you.
Good luck!
I was just wondering what you guys do for pre-meet jitters. I'm going to my second Master's Meet April 10 & 11th in Lexington, KY. I'm swimming my first backstroke events at this meet. Since I never was an age grouper, high school, or college swimmer, I tend to get really nervous the closer to a meet that I get. It's getting so bad this time, that it's getting to the point that I'm not having fun anymore. I've also started to dread going to practice and just swimming in general. Do any of you have advice? Any help would be appreciated.
I think there's some very good advice here for getting rid of the jitters using different mental approaches and breathing exercises. A physical approach that has worked for me in the past was getting into the warm up lane/pool just a few minutes before my race and swimming a very easy 50 or 100. It seemed to take just enough of the edge off, without completely erasing the good part of that excitement most of us feel before a race.
I'd also urge you to swim these preliminary meets before nationals. Practicing racing is important, and it will allow you to work on a pre-race routine that is successful for you.
Good luck!
