The Travel Meet

Feature by Michelle Berman, Swimming World intern

PISCATAWAY, New Jersey, November 2. TRAVEL meets are becoming more and more common around the club and college/professional level. More teams are willing to pack their bags, and take a long bus drive just to have the chance to swim at a new place. But, how do you keep your routine from home in check?

Travel meets are meant to be a fun way to get away from home. But the importance of staying in routine remains true. Many coaches, like Ed Pretre, assistant women's swimming coach at East Carolina University, see them as a great way to train their athletes.

"Travel meets are great way for your athletes to prepare for your conference meet. I think it's important for your athletes to compete in different environments. Being on the road can always be a real challenge, whether it's being on a long bus ride for 6 hours, swimming in a hostile environment, or competing at a pool with no warm-down pool," said Pretre. "These types of circumstances teach you how to swim well in an uncomfortable setting while you're broken down. As a coach, it's important to remind your athletes how well they have competed under those conditions, because it can change the whole mindset to have an excellent championship meet. "

Going from your home pool to a new pool presents not only the physical challenges mentioned by Pretre, but also mental challenges. Natalie Nichols, a junior at Ohio State, is a distance swimmer and knows that traveling to new places can cause major nervousness.

"I usually just try to calm my nerves before a travel meet by always trying to think positive. If you work hard throughout the year you should already know that you are going to do well. Be confident in yourself and your abilities!" says Nichols.

Another part of the mental aspect of leaving home for a new place is the focus factor. Learning to not let go of the details in races can make a huge difference in the long run.

"I think the main thing is that you have to communicate with your athletes individually. You have to give them goals, whether it's a race strategy or holding a certain technique for the race," said Pretre. "If you can keep your swimmers to focus on the task at hand, everything will fall into place for them to succeed."

A huge factor that comes with traveling to a new place is food! The question is how to do you deal with not having the same food you had at home?

"Personally I enjoy getting meals that I don't have to cook. I always make sure the food I eat is healthy, such as, choosing eggs over pancakes," said Nichols.

Pretre also agrees that having his athletes not have to cook for themselves is a great thing. Since many hotels now have continental breakfasts, athletes can get a balanced meal, without any of the work.

"I think it's actually easier. It's nice that the athletes can just come down to the hotel lobby and have a great selection of food to eat. They don't have to cook, and I am sure it's a nice change for them too to eat something different," said Pretre.

Another huge factor that comes with traveling away to a new place is sleep. Sleeping, as we all know is the key to getting energized and ready to go. This aspect is what proposes the biggest challenge for the athletes.

"This I have had some troubles with. It's very hard to sleep in a bed that is not as comfortable as your bed at home. However, I usually calm down and become sleepy if I watch television for a while. I pretty much have to calm my body in order to fall asleep," said Nichols. As Nichols said, trying to find ways that help you sleep even in different environments is key.

Routine is also something that is key for many athletes at a new location. Being able to stay in routine even when not home is even more important.

"As swimmers we are all used to routines. So I believe routines are a good idea, because it's something that's familiar to us. It's like bringing a piece of your daily lifestyle with you," said Nichols.

A key to being successful at travel meets is being able to do exactly what you do every day at home in a new place. Being able to stay as similar to what you do while at home and not allowing the extraneous factors to affect you is the safest way to ensure a successful travel meet.

Nichols described parts of a common routine for her.

"For our big meets, we usually do a wake up swim at around 6 or 6:30 a.m. Morning races are always important, because everyone is trying to make it back to finals," said Nichols. "Making sure you are awake for the morning race is a must, and wake-up swims always help."

The best part of traveling away to a new place can be different for everyone. For some, it's seeing new places, and for others it may be meeting new competitors.

"Free food and being in a new environment with tons of athletes that are striving for similar goals is the best part of it for me," said Nichols.

For Pretre the goals are different.

"The best part of having travel meets is team bonding. It can bring your teammates closer together, especially in tough environments," said Pretre.

Michelle Berman is a junior swimmer at Rutgers University who is serving as an intern at Swimming World this semester.

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