Preparing for competition both mentally and physically is essential for the big day. From early morning practices to intense dryland training, swimmers have put in the hard work to get ahead of their competition. During the crucial weeks and days leading up to swim meets, swimmers should properly implement a taper phase in their training to optimize performance on race day.

At this point in the season you are in full swing of your beach season. In our previous discussions, we covered pre-tournament readiness, resetting during matches, and setting and establishing goals. You have most likely had up’s and down’s and so goes the nature of sports and competition. Four of the most critical tenets to success in competition are Focus, Motivation, Confidence, and Managing stress and anxiety. Your level of self-awareness and reflection will dictate your ability to step fully into the above mentioned principles. Establishing your goals in detail helps drive these principles, but once they are established we must monitor our journey towards them.

There are many different elements strength coaches must consider when designing a strength program for their volleyball players. Whether players are just beginning to build strength or are well-developed professionals, the most effective strength and conditioning programs implement progressions.

A large factor in achieving success in volleyball is the ability to quickly react to situations on the court and use full-body strength to win points. Whether players are training on the court or in the weight room, increasing player agility, power, and speed will enhance game day performance. Here is a list of volleyball-specific exercises that coaches can implement before or after practices when players do not have access to the weight room.

Football preseason is just around the corner. It’s time for players to start getting into the right mindset to get ready for the first kick off in September. Preparing for preseason marks the start of football season and is a time for players to work through new plays with new teammates and give it their all on the field. It is the first chance an athlete has to make a good impression and will set the bar for the rest of the season.

Every day we hear championship stories about how BridgeAthletic's strength training software is helping coaches and athletes achieve their goals and overcome obstacles. By making coaches more efficient, the department more connected, and athletes' development more accessible, the BridgeAthletic strength training software takes athletic programs to the next level. These stories motivate us to build better athletes across sports and around the world. Featured in this #BridgeBuilt Series is Notre Dame High School’s Nick Garcia, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, who talks about the success his team of performance coaches and athletes has using BridgeAthletic’s platform.

Preparing for competition both mentally and physically is essential for the big day. From late night practices to intense strength and conditioning training, water polo teams have put in the hard work to get ahead of their competition. The weeks and days leading up to tournaments are crucial and there are many preparation aspects that go into maximizing player performance come game day.

In volleyball, having an end of the season vision is the center point for which all success and failure hinges. There will be pitfalls throughout the year, but resiliency, determination, and persistence are the keys to long-term success. How do volleyball players find a vision? Players need to explore what excites and drives them on a daily basis. Once this is established, athletes can use this to begin planning goals to achieve their vision, one step at a time. Athletes must also determine specific steps that will set them up to achieve their goals. Ultimately, goals drive motivation, commitment, focus, and enhance athletic performance on the court.

In order for motivation to be effective, athletes doing the work must own the reasons why they choose to show up every day and compete. Athletes commonly struggle with staying motivated when their perspective on success revolves solely around winning, especially in the offseason when there isn’t anything to win. Long-term goal setting can be motivating, but the lack of knowledge about the amount of training needed can lead to procrastination. The offseason is a great challenge for sports organizations and their athletes because time off is oftentimes seen as “free” time due to the absence of team training opportunities. An individual athlete’s motivation to train during the offseason can change as they are more likely to become distracted and less focused. It is essential for athletes and coaches to strategize and develop the optimal form of motivation in order to push themselves during the offseason.