WebBall.com - Tournament Prep

Conditioning for Mid-Season Tournaments

Multi-game weekends affect your whole routine.

Preparation for the intensity of weekend tournaments and playoff rounds goes beyond the mechanics and strategy of the game.

If you can handle the physical and mental challenges of a mid-season tournament, you're ready to take the championship!

Factors like rest and recovery are important of course, but so are mental alertness, and coping in a strange environment (at tournaments), or handling the do-or-die pressure of elimination rounds.

The warm-up before your first game is critical. Don't make it more intense (you don't want to burn out) but do give yourself time for every stage - stretching, jogging, throwing, fielding, batting.

Between tournament games, keep your arms and legs loose and warm. If the wait is longer than 4 hours, plan on at least 20-30 minutes for another short warm-up routine to get the kinks out, and get re-foucused.

Before a play-off game, a longer warm-up is important. You must go into that first inning fully prepared, fully confident. However, that doesn't mean go overboard - extra batting practice is good, a full pitching practice is not.

Safety Precautions

Tired, stressed athletes are far more accident prone.

Review all the safety tips for players.
Rest the night before. Movies, parties, friends can wait - your team needs you, and your own mental alertness can keep you in the game.
Sun and heat can be your worst competition at tournaments. Remember that the numbers on sunscreen are based on exposure time: SPF30 gives you only 30 minutes of full protection after which rays start getting through, so re-apply every couple of innings.
Dehydration can sneak up on you - causing a drop in mental alertness and performance. Ice on the forehead may feel cool but it's no substitute for water in the system, which brings us to...

Nutrition for Endurance

What's important for a weeknight game is crucial for a weekend tournament.

Remember, a 2% drop in hydration can mean a 10% drop in performance - the difference between winning and losing. Drink water!
Avoid salty, sugary, high fibre foods which draw water to the tract - you'd be bloated and dehydrated.
Choose foods that go down easily. You want comfort foods that you know you can digest. A settled stomach creates a confident athlete.
Stay away from any new foods during tournament breaks - and no hot dogs and chips (too fatty), no colas or coffee (they cause dehydration).
Best advice: bring a picnic hamper - leave the concession foods to parents and fans.
To review the rest of the nutrition tips {click here}.