Mental Preparation

Today was such a strange day. I started off by waking up at 6:00 AM and going to school. It is CASHEE testing week so all the sophomores have to take this stupid test that is literally 5th grade level. SO easy. I felt so unbelievably tired after testing and I do not understand why. I started off with a great breakfast (like always) and just felt too exhausted! After long hours of testing, I had a few more hours of school until softball began.

Softball started at 3:30 and felt like it went on for days. We did a great amount of warming up then went straight into infield. We did loads of buckets then would get some water then do more. Right after infield, we did some outfield! I love outfield, it is my favorite position because I love running. Running for the ball then having to dive and catch the ball is such a great feeling. Standing up with the ball in your glove, having the crowd praise you... That is what I like. I love the feeling of my metal spikes picking up the dirt and throwing it behind me while I am running my heart off, trying to help my pitcher. Outfield was made for people like me. Athletes who are not afraid to run for a ball and go all out trying to catch it, flying through the air. Anyway, we went through probably 20 more buckets of outfield work then went to hitting. Hitting was okay. It was not what I would of liked it to be, but it is what it is! That took a little while then we went into running the bases. We went from home to 1st twice then when from home to home once, all getting timed. I love hearing the times cause it makes me feel like I have to compete against every single person. I finally hit a solid 3.0    running from home to 1st and only a 12.3 running from home to home. I am hoping that I can increase my speed and lower those times, even if it is only a little bit!

Right after softball, I went home quickly and changed into workout clothes to go to training. I started off with my normal dynamic stretches and I felt some sort of anger building up in me and I had absolutely no clue why. So, I decided I really needed to work off all the steam, built up inside me, wanting to burst itself out. I started with deadlifts, doing sets of 5 at 203 lbs. I concluded those with 3 sets of 8 lateral lunges with 25 lbs. Then, I did Death by 10 meters. Hearing it from Kyle Haynes, Jocelyn's husband and a gnarly weightlifter, did not sound so bad for someone who likes to sprint. But man, I was tired. It starts off by having one minute to complete a 10 meter sprint. After that, you have one minute to complete 2 10 meter sprints. One minute to complete 3 10 meter sprints and so on... By 10, I definitely started to feel it. He said I only had to go to 16 but I think I could have completed 25 easily. It felt good to get some good conditioning in while angry, I feel like it helps motivate me more. I guess you could say this topic brings me to Mental Readiness.

I have a huge tournament coming up this weekend that is at the Sacramento Convention Center on February 9th and 10th. It is the Power League Qualifier and Shoreline is coming out to do our very best. I always take advantage of my learning and performance oppurtunities and always taking that extra step. If there's an open gym, I will always be there, asking any coach or player to help me improve my game whether it is volleyball or softball but in this case, it is volleyball. I plan ahead, practice to my very best, and prepare as effectively as I can. Mental Readiness is such a key point in any sport. For me, whenever I step onto the court, field, gym floor.. I always turn into a new mentally, physically, and committed athlete. I always go into my best mental zone for quality performance. What I have learned most is that you NEED to follow a path that brings out the best in you. Stuck in the wrong crowd of friends that do not support you in what you love? Find people who appreciate what you want to do and where you want to go, someone who is right by your side giving you the support you should be seeing out of a friend/friends. That was my position earlier this year, I had friends who had no interest about how my tournaments went or how my training goes. I made the smart decision of changing friends to people who love hearing what I have to say. Go down the path you really do want to make, but be sure it is what you want. Lastly: RELAX AND STAY FOCUSED. So important! Tournament anxiety used to be one of my biggest problems. I would have questions racing through my mind like the fastest racecar out of the track. I got over that so quickly by sitting myself down and saying "You can do this, you're going to set every ball so perfectly." Images in your brain are such a great thing. You see you and your team doing the actions you wish, imaging them can put them into reality. I have a few girls on my team that I go up to and say, "I'm going to set this ball and you're going to reach so high and crush the ball, sending it to the ground on the other side of the net, having no defender even get close to getting it up" and oh man, does that work. Everyone makes mistakes, just don't let one have such a bad effect on you. Relax, focus, and do what you gotta do! ;) "Mental preparation is training the mind for successful performance."