Well here we are. Nationals in Fredericton: what the last 90 days of training has been about. In a lot of ways this feels like a milestone, but in others just another step on a journey. I'm sure, like the girls, I'm processing a variety of emotions.
We tried to use today as a learning experience and make sure we can spend the week focused on us. We had practice at 11, then signed in and moved into rez and went to lunch. During most of this we let the girls process and respond however they instinctually would. There was good and bad, but being caught up in the moment they certainly didn't focus on decisions and reactions the positively helped performance. From being distracted by signage and venues at the practice facility to as a team running to fill up on ice cream at the caf while other teams watched, they (in their own way) tried to process this new experience.
Once we were settled in we had our first of 3 team meetings that day. This meeting primarily dealt with two issues: controlling controlables and dealing with what ifs. We talked about our expectations for being relentless (see 5 keys to Being Relentless) and what it meant to have a programmed response to all situations and controlling your environment. We pointed out the behaviours we saw and what needed to happen for our focus to be on performance. This went very well as girsl quickly recognized the behaviours we had seen that were instinctual responses vs. the calculated/engaged responses we need. The what if conversation was a little more complicated. We needed them to focus energy and thought process onto positive perspectives and areas they could control. The discussion was lenghty but important.
As the day went on we noted a dramatic improvement in focus and behaviours that put a priority on perforamnce. They did a great job meeting our hydration requirements, and at all other team events were early, prepared and giving each other reminders about the staying on the task at hand or helping make healthy choices. We bookended two meetings around dinner to give them the evening to relax with each other.
In the pre dinner meetings we laid out the schedule and expectations for the next day. We have a busy first day with two games, so we definitely laid out the schedule and let them know what we were doing to control that day. The girls were engaged and made sure they were clear on details. Once everyone had clear understanding we went to dinner, which was much more buisness like and team oriented then our first meal of the day had been.
Post dinner meeting was a prep for our game vs Manitoba in the morning. We started by letting the girls share what they knew or have learned in our prep work about Manitoba and how we plan on dealing with them. We then shared our 4 key focus points for the week, that will control all our discussions to simplify prep time. (Expect a blog later). Once those were shared we spent time connecting each point to the Manitoba team and what that meant for us. Our priority is making teams play our way and respond to us and our pace. We run concept based offense and defense so there wasn't much x and o's talk, but mostly about what we need to do to ensure the game gets played the way we want.
All in all a solid start to the week and lots done in preparation for our first competition day at Nats.
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