Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome back to the RaisingElite Competitors podcast.
I'm Coach Saylor, a mentalperformance coach inside our
mental training program, theelite mental game specifically
for girl athletes.
Athletes, this one is for you.
I'm so excited for today'sepisode because it is all about
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how to prepare to crush tryouts,and this is actually pulled from
the elite mental game and abonus training that we have in
there.
Of creating a plan to crushtryouts.
So super excited to give youthese tips today.
Whether your tryouts aretomorrow morning, maybe they're
in a few weeks, or maybe youstill have a few months to
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repair anywhere you are at inthe journey, these things are
going to be helpful for you.
So before we get into today'sepisode, I would like to give a
special shout out to Ava.
Ava says that EMG has been sohelpful and inspiring.
I think it has really helped mewith the disappointments I've
faced so far this season.
I didn't make varsity, but I'vemanaged to look at the bright
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side and only cried a few timesbefore I got past it.
LO.
And anytime my teammatesfrustrate me, I've been trying
to stay encouraging and justfocus on my own mindset and
effort.
Ava, we are so proud of you.
Sports are not always glamorous.
Sometimes we don't get theoutcomes that we want, but super
proud of you for perseveringthrough that and still being
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able to control thecontrollables, which is
something that we will talk.
About today.
So Ava is an athlete inside thelate mental game.
If you are interested inlearning more about that, you
can click in the show notes andthe details on this episode.
To get started so let's get intotoday's episode about your plan
to crush tryouts.
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And the goal of tryouts isreally to just showcase what you
can do, it's important toactually understand.
Why tryouts are important.
It is simply to show off theskills that you already have,
and so hopefully that actuallytakes some pressure off of you,
if the goal of tryouts is justto show up with the skills that
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you have, that means that youget to show up and be you.
You do not have to be anybodyelse during this tryout time,
right?
You get to show up and be you,and you're gonna be able to own
that.
That is going to give you somuch confidence in your
preparation.
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So for tryouts, you want to beas prepared as you can be,
right?
Like that is simply what youhave to do.
So you wanna be laying thefoundation.
If you have still a few weeks,maybe a few months.
This is really when you want to.
Hone in on the physical skillwork of your sport, right?
Like really being able to trustyour skills, trust your
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training, and just prepare thebest that you can.
Because then when tryouts hits,you know that you've done all
you can do, and it's time tojust go out there and do your
thing, right?
Also, on the tryout day, I wantyou to give yourself permission
to just let go.
Have fun and play freely,because again, you've done all
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that you can do to prepare andthat's why it's so important to
lay the foundation and be surethat you are taking steps daily,
weekly, to be as prepared as youcan and to really just get 1%
better at each time you go outthere on the court, on the
field.
Whatever it is that you competein.
And then the other thing Ihinted at it earlier is I want
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you to control what you cancontrol, okay?
Let go of the rest.
Coaches are going to make theirown decisions.
Teammates are going to show upand act how they're going to
act, so you need to show up andcontrol what you can control.
You're in control of youreffort, your attitude, the
intensity that you come and playat your body.
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Language, being coachable, beinga great teammate, communication,
leadership, demonstrating,stepping in and demonstrating in
drills.
That is all in your control andthat's really what is going to
make a difference in yourtryouts as well.
And the other thing too istryouts.
You don't have to put all thispressure on it, right?
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It is simply.
Another time that you get to goout and play your sport, the
sport that you love, so it's notthis big thing.
You don't need to make it thisbig thing.
It is simply another opportunityfor you to go out there and do
your thing, to play the sportthat you love.
Okay, let's get a little bitmore specific and dive into kind
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of the before, during, and afterof tryouts.
Okay?
So we kind of laid thefoundation of what it's going to
require of you.
As you're preparing for tryouts,but now let's really get into,
before tryouts happens, whatneed needs to happen?
Like, what is your plan?
And you do need to create aspecific training plan, let's
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say you're in that phase whereyou still have a few months
before tryouts.
This is your time to work onyour skills, to push yourself,
to get outside of your comfortzone, for you to train at a
really high level.
And not only work on yourweaknesses, but also like kind
of figure out what yourstrengths are.
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What are those things that youare good at that you can really
showcase?
So a few months before, you needto create that training plan for
yourself to be able to executeand for you to really be
prepared.
When it comes to that tryoutday, a few weeks before tryouts,
this is really when you arewanting to tap into.
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The mental side, and reallyfocus on your mindset.
So it would be helpful for youto start incorporating some
visualizations that are reallyspecific to tryouts, and maybe
you have the privilege toactually go and train at your
tryout location, or maybe you atleast know what it looks like,
what it feels like to be inthere.
That's going to be helpful toput in your visualization.
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Make it as specific as possibleand really try to set aside like
a few minutes every day, right?
Like two to three minutes everyday of visualizing.
And just seeing how you want toshow up on your tryout day is
going to be helpful because thecool thing about visualization,
if you didn't already know this.
The more detailed you canimagine something, if you
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imagine something using all ofyour senses, your brain does not
know the difference between youimagining it and visualizing it
or it actually happening.
So you can really use that toyour advantage and kind of
create these situations ahead oftime to help build your
confidence.
Come tryout day.
The other thing that would behelpful a few weeks before is to
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really come up with a mantra,like a key phrase or maybe a
word that you're going to comeback to that's gonna help guide
you and refocus you,, duringyour preparation for tryouts as
well as your tryout day.
Okay, now let's get into likethe night before, right?
Like you have tryouts tomorrowmorning, a few keys.
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You just wanna be as prepared asyou can.
Can you pack your food ahead oftime?
Can you, have your gear allready to go, all set out?
Wearing a bright shirt on yourtryout day can be really
helpful.
Like you don't have to, but it'sgoing to help give you that
extra edge to stand out andafter tryouts when coaches are
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like, who was that girl?
And the bright orange shirt,right?
That's going to help you.
Or maybe like doing a funhairstyle that day, right?
Like having small ways that youcan also stand out.
Other than just your, yourskill.
So the night before, put yourgear out, pack your food up.
The morning of, you don't wannabe rushed, right?
Like when you wake up.
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We want this to be as peacefulas possible.
So that's why it's important thenight before to get everything
ready to go.
The other thing too ahead oftime is to time it out, know how
long it's gonna take you to getto the tryout facility, how.,
Long, you need to warm up aheadof time, To get acquainted with
the environment that you'regonna be in.
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Like, have that alreadypre-planned so that there's no
extra surprises, during thattryout morning.
So do what you can do that is inyour control to prepare.
And the other thing to know isthat nerves are a good thing, as
you're preparing, maybe you'remonths out and you feel a little
bit nervous, maybe it is.
Tomorrow or next week that youhave tryouts.
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Nerves are not a bad thing,okay?
And you can actually shift yournerves to excitement.
When you think about nervousnessin your body, you probably, your
heart beats a little bit faster,right?
You have sweaty hands.
Maybe your body shakes a littlebit.
You get butterflies in yourstomach.
You have lots of thoughts racingthrough your brain.
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Okay, great.
Guess what?
What happens when you areexcited?
The same things, right?
You have lots of thoughtsrunning through your brain.
Your heart beats a little bitfaster.
Your breathing probably picksup.
Your body's a little bit shaky.
You're sweaty, all of those samethings happen.
So it is literally just how youthink about nerves.
So I want you to know thatnerves are actually a good
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thing.
They are your body and yourbrain's way of preparing you to
be ready.
Okay?
So anytime you feel nervous, Iwant you to remember and say to
yourself, this means that I'mready for tryouts.
I'm excited for tryouts.
Don't be scared.
If you are nervous, know that itis normal and it is a good
thing.
Channel nerves into somethingthat's going to be helpful for
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you.
And then the morning of like,you want to stick to what you
know.
Okay, like Have a really great.
Pre-competition, pre tryoutroutine.
So to pump yourself up, maybeyou listen to some music, maybe
you're able to be in the carwith some teammates or friends,
doing that same visualizationthat you've done a few weeks
before to imagine yourself onceagain playing at tryouts, how
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you were wanting to show up.
Also, tapping into your breathtoo, like taking a few deep
breaths.
I know that it sounds.
Super cliche, but that isactually going to calm down your
nervous system if you arefeeling like a little bit
hesitant or apprehensive.
And it's gonna help you get intothat mode of being like calm,
cool, and collected andconfident.
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Right.
Saying your mantra again toyourself.
And again, you timed it all out,so you will likely, and I would
definitely recommend being atthe tryout facility a little bit
early.
Okay.
Like you want to be there.
As early as you can probably sothat you can just get really
comfortable.
And as soon as you walk in,okay, you get comfortable, maybe
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you put your gear on, go andintroduce yourself to the
coaches, like walk up.
Have really strong.
Positive, like tall bodylanguage.
Introduce yourself to thecoaches.
Make that first impression.
Have your head up.
Don't be looking at your phoneor unengaged, right, and then
start to interact with someother people who are there as
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well.
These small things are all goingto add up and help you really
stand out like you are going toget noticed for doing these
little things that otherathletes might not be doing.
Okay?
So just stand out in thosesimple ways.
And then during tryouts, okay,we kind of set the scene of few
months before, laying thegroundwork, laying that
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foundation, and then what youneed to do before tryout.
Now during tryouts.
Okay.
We talked about in that kind oflike planning mode that you want
to maybe be focusing on andworking on some of those
weaknesses.
During tryouts, you don'tnecessarily need to work on your
weaknesses, Y ou need to show upand lean into your strengths.
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That's why it's important toknow what you are good at.
Coaches are gonna be on thelookout for the ability to fill
certain roles on their team.
You need to know what you'regood at and you need to be able
to showcase that as well.
Be able to show up, know exactlywhat you can do and what you can
bring to a team.
And do that again, just likeshow up and be you.
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The other thing take risks.
Like go, go big.
Just go for it at this tryout.
Because you're going to makemistakes either way.
Whether you take risks or not.
Mistakes are going to happen.
And if you make mistakes, it isa when you make mistakes.
So if you're already going tomake mistakes.
Like take risks, get outside ofyour comfort zone.
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Just go for it.
Go big.
Like why not?
And then once you do that, alsohave a system to be able to
bounce back from your mistakesquickly.
You don't need to dwell on thembecause again, they're going to
happen.
That's going to be a normal partof the tryout process.
You can't expect yourself to beperfect, nor is anybody else
around you going to be perfect,and the coaches are not
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expecting you to be perfect.
Be able to bounce back frommistakes and recover really
quickly, like get back into thegame and refocus on that next
play, that next moment.
And then control what you cancontrol.
Again, we touched on thisearlier, but you really just
need to show up.
Have a great attitude, be aleader.
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Work your butt off, right?
Like be the hardest worker inthe gym.
Demonstrate when you're able tobe an active listener.
Be coachable.
Be a supportive teammate, right?
Like communicate.
Control what you can control andlet go of the rest.
There's going to be a lot thatis out of your control and
that's okay.
You need to refocus and shift towhat is in your control and then
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after the tryout, while you werethere at the facility, I want
you to thank the coaches.
That's going to be importantagain for leaving that
impression and just showing thatgratitude, like expressing the
gratitude of the ability andopportunity to play your sport
once again.
So go up, thank the coaches.
Leave that lasting impression.
And then after tryout, maybe youget in the car ride home.
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I don't want you to beatyourself up.
That is not the time.
Because you did the best you canwith what you have.
Do a quick reflection.
Think about like three thingsthat went well at the tryout and
maybe one or two things thatdidn't go so well that you are
going to improve on.
And that's it.
Then you need to let go of itagain.
You did the best that you can.
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That's all that you can ask for.
And then once you get to kind oflike the decision point, maybe
coaches are sending out offers.
Whether you make the team thatyou wanted, you didn't make the
team you wanted, or maybe youdidn't make a team at all, know
that that is not a reflection ofyou, Whatever team you make does
not define who you are as ahuman because you are not your
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sport, you are a human firstathlete.
Second.
So whatever team you make is nota reflection of who you are.
It's not a definition of who youare.
It is simply a decision that hadto be made right.
and again, a lot of thosefactors are out of your control.
Know that you did the best youcan.
And then know that you can goout there and see whatever
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decision was made as anopportunity.
There's an opportunity ineverything.
Maybe you made varsity.
Okay, great.
What's the opportunity in that?
How can you get better?
Like where are you going to makeprogress in?
Maybe you didn't make the teamyou wanted.
Okay, where's the opportunity inthat?
Maybe you get the opportunity tostep up and be a leader and a
role model on your team.
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Maybe you didn't make the teamat all.
Where's the opportunity in that?
Maybe now you have more time totry out things that you wouldn't
have tried out, right?
Maybe there's other activitiesthat are going to fill your
time.
Maybe you're gonna be a littlebit more focused on schoolwork
as well, like.
There is an opportunity ineverything.
So try to see the good no matterwhat decision is made.
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So athletes, your next steps areto create that tryout plan.
Have a plan, stick to it,execute it.
Know that it can be flexible,but really try to hold yourself
to a high standard as you arepreparing.
And then visualize.
Visualize your success, how youare wanting to show up at your
tryout.
And then go out there.
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Know that you've done everythingyou can to prepare and crush it.
This is your tryout plan.
I hope that you enjoyedlistening to this episode.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
As always, it would mean a lotto us if you would rate or
review this episode as well assend it along to a teammate or
maybe a sibling who is preparingfor tryout.
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Thank you so much and we willsee you next time on the Raising
Elite Competitors podcast.