With five consecutive games on the road, it certainly has
shown on the drained lady dragons. Long
drives and late nights mixed with a nine game losing streak, is sure to take
not only a physical toll, but mental strain on any athlete. Stepping off of a bus after 4 hours on the
road and being expected to play hard for 60min is challenging for any away
team. There is no doubt that a large
cheering section, custom warm up music and the familiarity of one’s own field
gets a team pumped for their game. But
what about the traveling team? How do
they get amped for games? The Dragons
are spicing up their routine to help get them mentally into game mode as soon
as they step off that bus.
 |
| "Remember the Titans" sports film |
First and for most within an hour of arrival time, the
players have to wake up and are not allowed to lie down. I personally applaud anyone who can even fall
asleep on the dragon bus, but this ensures that that each athlete is wide awake
and not groggy when they arrive. Secondly,
if they play a movie on the way to the game, it can only be motivational films (mostly
sports related). Movies that have
violence, lots of swearing and derogatory content tend to put people in a weird
state of mind, make them upset or uneasy.
By playing only motivational films, it puts the team in a positive mood
before game time. Thirdly, before
exiting the bus our coach always gives a motivational speech to help get us in
the right state of mind.
It is pivotal that everyone is on the same page and focused
prior to exiting the bus. If there is a
teammate who is semi awake or upset, it can throw off the whole momentum and
pre game warm-up of the team, which could result in a poor first half to a
game. The lady Dragons are hoping with
these new implementations it will better ensure the readiness of the team to
come out of the gate strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment