Practice Times and Location
(All practices at Buda Y Pool)
Sep. 23rd thru April.

Senior Team

Tsunami Team (AG)

Riptide Team

Breakers Team

"Thanks for your support!"

This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from sport psychologist Dr. Jenny Susser. Susser offers some advice on pre-race routines.

Pre-race routines are valuable tools for swimmers that can help with pre-race jitters. A pre-race routine is what you do once you’ve arrived behind the blocks and before the gun goes off. Think about your favorite swimmer right now and try to remember what they do behind the blocks before a race. You might realize that it’s the same each time, race after race. Even Tiger Woods has a “pre-shot” routine!

Pre-race routines are important for several reasons. One is consistency. When you go to a meet, certain things will always vary: the pool, the blocks, the lane lines, the bathrooms, the officials and your competitors. Your pre-race routine will not vary, and that you can count on.

A second reason pre-race routines are important is that they can help “ground” you and make you feel more comfortable. Whether you are at home or away, it can help manage distractions by always giving you something to focus on. As you know, focus is key to swimming fast and when you get nervous, your focus unfortunately tends to go to how nervous you are and not your race or technical strategies.

To create a pre-race routine, think about the best race you’ve ever had and try to remember what you did behind the blocks. If you can’t remember exactly, it doesn’t matter, you just want to get the feel of it. Come up with a short pattern that you like, write it down, rehearse it for a few days until it feels natural, and voila!