Brian MacKenzie's Tip of the Week: "What if" analysis

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On the day of competition and at the competition venue situations can arise that may cause panic and loss of confidence. Some situations can be created by the athlete (misplaced kit) others are outside their control (weather conditions). Prepare by going though a series of ââ,¬Å"what ifââ,¬Â situations so should they arise they have a solution. The following are examples of situations that may arise on the day of competition for a track and field athlete:

You are stuck in traffic on the way to the venue
The event time is brought forward
The event is delayed
You have entered the 200m & Long Jump and they are at the same time
There are additional rounds in the competition (heats, semi and final)
You are not allowed to use your own starting blocks
Starting blocks are not allowed in the heats
Ten minutes before your event it starts raining
It gets very sunny and hot
Kit is forgotten, damaged or lost
Lace has broken on their racing shoes
Spikes are missing from your racing shoes
You are not allowed to warm up on the track
No safety pins provided to attach your number
Think it through and find out what it is that worries you about competitions. Consider what can be done to reduce the chances of the situation arising or possible solutions should they arise.

Have an equipment checklist - what spare "bits and pieces" (safety pins, shoe laces, tape, spikes etc) do you carry?

Remember the following - ââ,¬Å"By failing to plan you plan to failââ,¬Â.

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Brian Mackenzie is a senior athletics coach with UK Athletics. He has 35+ years experience as a competitive athlete and 18+ years experience as a track and field athletics coach. He is the editor of Successful Coaching and the author of the World Sports Science Training Workbook.