5 Tips To Best Prepare for College Midseason Meets
For many teams, midseason is the first meet of the season where athletes are rested and suited up. Some swimmers might feel stressed out or nervous leading up to longer meets due to feeling the pressure to perform at a higher-level competition. Here are some tips to help collegiate swimmers best prepare for their midseason meet.
Prioritize Your Sleep
Prioritizing your sleep is extremely important leading up to a big meet not only because it helps athletes feel more rested and recovered, but it also improves performance. According to the Sleep Foundation, athletes should aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night to perform at their best. As teams begin to taper in the pool, swimmers should maintain their rest outside of the pool by getting the proper amount of sleep!
Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water is essential for all athletes because it regulates body temperature and prevents cramping. As swimmers prepare for long meets, they should drink plenty of water so that they stay hydrated and keep their joints and body moving smoothly.
Stretch and Roll Out
Leading up to big meets, swimmers should stretch to avoid tightness in their bodies. Foam rolling is also a great way for swimmers to work out the tenderness in their muscles. The key to performing these exercises is starting them early enough. Beginning to stretch and foam roll the day before a meet might hurt you more than help you. It could cause swimmers to feel sorer than they did before. Starting these exercises well before a meet will benefit swimmers in the long run!
Fuel Your Body
Fueling your body appropriately is one of the most vital things a swimmer can do to perform well. It is important that swimmers eat enough proteins, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy throughout the day. Eating a balanced and nutritious diet will provide swimmers with the energy that they need to compete, as well as the nutrients that they need to replenish after racing. Although, swimmers should not change their diet tremendously leading up to meets. Athletes should keep their diet relatively the same so that their bodies are used to what is being consumed during competition.
Focus On the Small Things in Practice
As you gear up for a big meet, thinking about the small and technical details in practices is what will contribute to the big swims in competition. Focusing on fast starts, tight streamlines, quick turns and good breakouts at practice will help correlate in time for meets.
As a collegiate swimmer myself, I try to prioritize these very things especially going into big meets like midseason or my conference championship meet. Typically for midseason, my team is not fully tapered, but rather rested and shaved. For me personally, midseason is a good meet to gauge where I am so far in the season. I try not to hyperfocus on the times, but more so the way my races feel in the water. Midseason is a great trial run for the end of the season. It helps assess what worked, and what could have been done better when it comes to race strategies and recovery.
After midseason, my coach usually meets with each of the swimmers to go over our races and plan for the rest of the season. A midseason meeting with my coach allows us both to identify the small things that I need to work on that will make the big difference at conference champs. Things like race strategy, pullouts/ breakouts, starts, turns, endurance, etc. are all things that could help contribute to the results that you are looking for by the end of the season!
I hope these tips are helpful for college athletes who are striving for success at their midseason meets!