How can I best prepare for AFL game day?

by: Samuel Parsons

In Aussie Rules Football (AFL), we train nearly all year round with the ambition to better ourselves through our beloved game.

The frantic energy, fast-pace has all the thrills that fans enjoy. Whether you're a player, coach or fan, game day can be an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. But what does it take to prepare for game day that will give you an extra edge?

To ensure that you're at your best on game day, it's important to prepare yourself mentally and physically Talent, training and skill don’t always translate into performance but here is 3 AFL Game Day Tips that will boost your game no matter what level you are playing at.

1. Hydrate and Fuel Up

One of the most important aspects of game day preparation is ensuring that you're properly hydrated and fueled. As we burn a high-level of physical energy running, jumping and tackling our sources of energy need to be sustained and hydration upkept to maintain maximum performance.

Making sure you're drinking plenty of water in the days leading up to the game, as well as on game day itself is one of the best ways to ensure optimal hydration. Avoid sugary or energy drinks and instead opt for water, coconut water or a sports drink to replace lost electrolytes.

When choosing what to eat before, during and after a game always look for foods that will give you high-quality, sustained nutrients. Indulging in a greasy meal or processed foods and overeating can cause indigestion or sluggishness.

Try and opt for these foods in your game diet to perform at your peak:

• Whole grains
• Lean protein
• Fruits
• Vegetables

2. Visualize Success

Visualizing your game day can be utilized in your game day preparation. Using visualization can promote positive energy, focus and confidence by imagining yourself visually performing on game day and preparing yourself mentally to harness nerves.

Creating images, like watching a movie in your head can be done in a number of ways but opt for a quiet space, closing your eyes and capturing the moment you run out onto the field making a great play, helping a teammate or scoring a goal!

Try and sense the sights, sounds, smell, and feeling you get around game day. Don’t be too worried if this brings on nerves, it’s a natural feeling we all get. Let yourself be in the moment and the more often you utilize visualization, the more powerful the tool is.

3. Stay Focused and Calm

We all experience game day differently. Game day can be stressful and overwhelming so it’s important to be focused and calm to be at your best. In addition to visualization, some ways we can manage our excitement or nerves is to focus on our breath. Using long, slow breaths is proven to calm your nervous system enough to be in the best mental and physical state.

Another important strategy is to not get caught up in negative thoughts or distractions. Concentrate on your team objectives, game day strategy and celebrate the positive moments such as cheering on your team throughout the game are great ways to stay locked-in mentally. Avoiding worrying about mistakes, distractions such as umpire decisions or the weather and negative self-talk is often the best way we can promote self-performance internally.

Developing a (flexible) game day routine will help you stay calm. This might include your dinner the night before, your warm up, favourite music, visualization or saying positive self-affirmations out loud in the mirror. Whatever your routine is, it will be sure to keep you on track. However, allow for some wiggle room in your routine – you won’t always feel great from your routine but it is a basic way to get in the right state of mind.

4. Find a professional private football coach

Finding a professional private football coach that can help you with improving your mental or physical attributes for game day can be one of the best ways to boost your confidence. Often, we seek advice from professionals to improve aspects of our performance in real-life and sport is no different!

Some of the best athletes have private performance coaches, so it’s no secret that a private football coach can help you maximize your performance on game day. Whether you are seeking to improve a particular aspect of your game day, like your routine, food and hydration or mental preparation, or just overall skill and confidence, private football coaches are available in most areas, you might be able to find one near you.

In conclusion, game day preparation is essential for optimal performance in AFL. Make sure you're properly hydrated and fueled, visualize success, and stay focused and calm on game day. Getting advice from a professional football coach is also proven to benefit your performance on game day – just ask a pro. By following these tips, you'll be better prepared to perform at your best and enjoy the game.