Warm Up Room at Competition

The 2010 competition season is well underway with major competitions just around the corner. As coaches we place so much emphasis on the actual 2 minutes of 30 seconds of competition, but sometimes we fail to recognize the importance of the work done beforehand to prepare us for our time on the mat.

Specifically, I am referring to the warm up prior to competition and the ways in can be used to maximize your athletes performance, mental preparedness and physical readiness.

First, lets consider the actual purpose of a pre-competing warm up. For most events, teams are given a standard "stretching" mat, performance surface and tumbling strip. Times vary between events - but what are you actually supposed to do with that time?

Having coached teams at the scholastic, all-star and collegiate level we believe that this time is critical for athlete - but not in the ways many coaches think.

The purpose of warm up is to:

1. Warm up skills
2. Stretch
3. Mental Preparedness
4. Unify team
5. Get in the right mindframe to compete

Based on the stations given, and the time necessary to meet each of these objectives here are our recommendations:

BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE WARM UP GYM:
1. Stretch (this does not have to take place inside warm up)
2. Ensure that your athletes are in uniform and ready to go
3. Make sure that all unnecessary items are left behind (Jewellry, wallet, etc)
4. Remove jewellry
5. Go to bathroom/prepare hair/make up in advance.

WARM UP MAT:
Focus - Warming up team skills
1. Warm up individual stunts and tosses.
Optimal use of time: Warm up as a team to counts

MAIN FLOOR:
Focus - Performance and Spacing
1. Hard mark routine
2. Full out expressions/artistic elements/jumps/etc.

TUMBLING STRIP:
Focus: Warm up all routine tumbling
1. Standing Tumbling
2. Running Tumbling
3. Tumbling with Jump combinations

We have found this warm up to be the most effective and least tiring for athletes because:
1. It allows for maximum recovery time
2. It does not exhaust athletes before performance
3. If you need to "work on" something in the warm up gym - it should not be in the routine.
4. Priority must be keeping athletes in a positive mental attitude before performance.

Many coaches like to run full out run-throughs in the warm up gym and while that can certainly be effective for many teams - it can also be exhausting, risk injury and if the run is poor - it can impact the athletes mental preparedness right before they are on the floor.

Regardless of how you warm up, making sure that all aspects of the routine are ready and that athletes are excited to step out on the floor is the BEST POSSIBLE objective for any competition warm up!

GOOD LUCK!