How to Overcome Butterflies and Nervousness

Most athletes, including myself, have at some time or another experienced what is commonly know as butterflies in the stomach or jitters- which usually comes from the excitement of the competition or contest. As a result, their nervousness can cause a drop in performance. Butterflies before a contest is common in sports; however, pregame anxiety can cause athletes to perform poorly due to tension in their muscles and restrict them from performing in the manner that they desire.

Pregame anxiety can cause athletes to lose sleep and stay up the night before worrying about the performance and outcome. Athletes may experience lack of an appetite the day of the contest because of pregame anxiety. It can cause some to have the feeling of throwing up before going out to perform. On the contrary, it can cause some to have a heighten sense of excitement to want to perform to the best of their ability.

Athletes should want to have positive butterflies when going into competition that will help them optimize their focus and performance. However, too much or little can decrease their desired performance because their anxiety levels are either too high or too low for performance. The desired outcome of every athlete is to be able to consistently control their emotions for optimal performance.

Your pregame preparation is the best time to control your emotions and to plan the optimal performance that you are seeking.

Later in this series, we will create a checklist for you to examine if you are committing some of the top mistakes during your pregame preparation.

3 Quick Feet Drills for Athletes

No matter the sport, quick feet can be the difference between a good athlete and a great one. There are endless drills that can be done to improve a player's foot speed, and here are a few that will help you in any sport.

Here are 3 quick feet drills that I like to do with my athletes:

Drill #1:The grid- There are endless drills that can be done with the grid and here are just a few. Put some tape on the floor if you are in a gymnasium and make a "T" or a cross. If you are on a field you can use some field paint and paint a square. The there will be 4 quadrants numbered 1 through 4. You will pick numbers to call out and jump from one quadrant to the next. Make sure that your hips and shoulder stay square during the course of the exercise. Perform for 20 repetitions. Rest for 30 seconds between repetitions doing sets of 4.

Drill #2 Tire- You've all seen the old football movies where players are running through tires, athletes can use tires or rings. High-step through tires or outstretched string forces the athlete to get their knees up, be precise with their feet, stay on the balls of their feet and keep their balance. To keep the athlete on the balls of his feet, try having him backpedal back to the starting point instead of just jogging.

Drill #3 The square- Set up four cones in a 10 x 10-foot square. Have the player start by shuffling (side-stepping) from left to right along the outside of one side of the square. Once she gets to the end, have them backpedal, then shuffle back the other way, right to left, and then have her sprint to the front and repeat. Depending on age and ability, have the player do this anywhere from five to 12 times. Make sure the player takes short steps as she shuffles and that she doesn't cross their feet. Also make sure as the player gets tired, that she keeps her knees bent and her torso upright.

Remember, reading these drills will not make you quicker. But actually performing them regularly two or these times a week will provide you with great results and a noticeable increase in your foot quickness and explosion.

If you have trouble at first on some of the drills, don’t worry. Just slow yourself down until you master the movement. Always remember form before speed. It takes over 17,000 times to build a new habit so be persistent.

We Breed Champions!

Charlotte Speed and Strength Coach

5 Tips for Optimal Nutrition

Everyone needs fuel and everyone needs nutrients. Yet everyone eats for completely different reasons. Sports Nutrition can provide you that extra edge over your competitor and is an essential component to being a high performance athlete. There are so many different opinions, ways of doing things, answers to weight loss, answers to weight gain everywhere you turn that it can become confusing to a point where acting on good intentions seems to halt.

Here are 5 Tips that athletes should keep in mind when dealing with their nutrition.

1. Stay hydrated – Because our bodies are made up of 55-65% fluid, it is essential that athletes stay adequately hydrated in order to avoid heat illness and cramping. When practicing in hot, humid weather, some of the larger athletes can lose as much as 10-12 cups of fluid (he/she would need to drink double this amount to re-hydrate). Even being slightly dehydrated can impair performance, so athletes should drink liberal amounts of water and sports drinks throughout the day, during and after practice. Usually it is too late when you actually start to feel dehydrated so don't use that as your indicator to start drinking water.

2. Consume adequate calories and carbohydrates – Because food is our fuel, athletes need to ensure adequate calorie and carbohydrate consumption every day. Complex carbohydrates including whole grain breads, cereals, pastas, fruits and vegetables should make up at least 50% of our diets. Carbohydrates, our body’s chief form of energy is stored as glycogen in our muscles (and liver). A diet deficient in carbohydrates and calories, can increase the risk of fatigue, injuries and a drastic decrease in performance.

3. Eat Adequate amounts of protein - Adequate protein, in addition to serving many metabolic functions in the body, is also essential for rebuilding and repair of our body's tissue. Because athletes are continuously tearing down muscle tissue through regular workouts, they should consume adequate amounts of meat, beans, fish, poultry, nuts, peanut butter, eggs and dairy products.

4. Regular meals and snacks - For most athletes, it is almost impossible to meet the nutrition requirements with less than 3 meals and 2-3 snacks each day. Eating regularly (every 2-4 hours) helps to maintain blood glucose and energy throughout the day and through practice. A mistake athletes often make is thinking that they don’t have to eat adequately on "non-workout days." These "off" days should instead be treated as "re-fueling days" and athletes can take advantage of having more time to prepare well-balanced meals.

5. Avoid fad diets and supplements – Frequently looking for that extra edge, athletes are often targeted by the market industry with products promising special "energy boosting," "performance enhancing" or "muscle gaining" results. Frequently these products or diets have little (if any) scientific data backing them and can actually be damaging to an athletes performance. A high performance diet is often the key that athletes need to help them get that extra edge over their competition.

Charlotte Speed and Strength Coach