Opening day of camps are typically filled with off court activities, and is a travel day more than anything. With this many athletes and coaches coming together for "just" a weekend, it is not surprising when we run into a travel hitch or two. The biggest things for coaches and athletes (and managers) when these things happen is to remember to control the controllables. Delays, cancellations, etc. can be very frustrating but are out of our control. If nothing else they provide a great test to our mental toughness and intestinal fortitude.
We did run into a few hitches today. For the athletes who experienced them we just reiterated that we control the controllables and that they will not be penalized for missing things because of this. Going into an assessment camp these athletes are nervous enough, to run into these extra stressors can be mentally tiring. We will work as a staff to make sure the athletes are ready to demonstrate their best on court following their delayed arrivals.
After a group dinner, we held a meeting to review expectations and guidelines for the weekend. I, personally, prefer not to use the word "rule", as these athletes are young, mature women who should know how to conduct themselves responsibly. We reiterated that they aren't just being evaluated on court but how they represent themselves in every scenario throughout the weekend.
Lastly, we reminded the girls that they are vying for a position to represent their country at an international competition. When I was flying to Toronto today, I started to think about that exact thing and it gave me goosebumps and filled me with excitement. It is so special for me to have a profession that allows me these opportunities. I am sure the girls are feeling similar emotions and will give their all on and off the court this weekend.
I had hoped to update this blog regularly over the course of that weekend, but we had so many different things to cram into just three days and updating the blog fell pretty far down my priority list. We were essentially on the go from 7:00am to 11pm, so when it was time to shut 'er down it did not take long to crash and get some much desired sleep.
We had a great camp and our excited with our group of 16 we have moving forward and preparing together for the World Championships. We now have a plan in place to communicate and monitor each individual as they train and prepare for when we reconvene at the end of July. I will continue to give you some more regular updates on exactly what this entails and how things are going!
Exciting times are ahead!
