How to prepare yourself 24 hours before the big competition? |19 March 2022

Here are eight tips to get our athletes ready for the battle in major competitions.

1. See yourself in your mind winning the competition

Imagine yourself accomplishing just that. Picture yourself wearing the gold medal, surrounded by your coach, teammates, or loved ones who are celebrating your victory.

2. Be optimistic

Now is not the time to dwell on what you could or should be done to improve your performance. With just 24 hours or less before the game, the only thing that can help you is staying positive. Mistakes can happen during the game. Remind yourself not to dwell on your errors and instead focus on what you can do to get ahead and improve your chances of winning.

3. Stay focused

There are only two things you need to focus on the day before a competition: sleep and proper diet. Stay away from anything that might distract you like night parties, TV, or errands that can wait.

4. Cut back on training

The day before the competition, reduce the intensity of your physical training. Make sure your body is fully rested before the event.

5. Sleep early

Sleep 10 hours daily to recharge and improve your performance. The day before the event, sleep earlier so you won’t have a hard time waking up early for your game. Taking a 20-minute nap a few hours before the competition will also help increase your energy.

6. Eat a high-carb dinner and breakfast

You need to eat high-carb meals before the competition because these will help optimise your performance during the game. Carbohydrates supply energy to your body, which enables you to be at your highest level for longer. Glucose from carbs has also been found to help with memory. A few hours before the game, you can refuel with healthy snacks like bananas to keep your carb levels up.

7. Prepare what you need the day before the competition

The morning of the competition can be stressful, so to avoid rushing and forgetting important things that you need for the game, organise them the day before the event. You can make a checklist of things that you need to bring with you. Tick the items off once they’re inside your bag. This will help put your mind at ease.

8. Meditate

Finally, meditate the night before the competition and an hour before the game. Meditation reduces stress, clears the mind, helps you stay focused and increases your pain tolerance. A simple meditation technique is to pay attention to your breathing. Notice how your body moves as you slowly inhale from your nose and exhale from your mouth.

To make visualisation more powerful, you can draw goal pictures and write affirmations. Look at your images and statements of success just before the game to boost your confidence.

Maurice Denys

Certified Mental Coach (CMC)

S.N.S.H. Dip. (Sports Psychology)

S.N.S.H. Dip. (Life Coaching)