By Luke Barker (@Luke2Barker)
LISTENING to Wayne Carey a couple of weeks ago on Triple M talking about his & other team mates preparation before games whilst playing Interstate, got me thinking about how players prepare differently and some of the quirky rituals players undertake.
One of the more amusing stories Carey recounted was how Mick Martyn used to struggle on Interstate trips the day before the game.
Travelling interstate meant that the team came up the day before the game and would have a light run that morning. After the morning session was completed, the players would have the rest of the day to do whatever they liked.
For some players, especially Mick, this wasn’t an ideal situation.
Back at the hotel expansive amounts of food would be laid out for the players on their return from training. Carey explained how Mick was an over indulger and couldn’t help himself with deserts… especially if it was a free for all.
Given there was nothing else to do but typically hang around the hotel, according to Carey, Mick would regularly down 4 bowls of ice cream just because it was there… which in turn then made him feel crook all night!
The moral of the Carey story was that Interstate games threw out player’s usual preparation and how important it was for players to find a routine on Interstate games that worked for them and enabled them to perform the way that is required.
This story got me thinking about pre game preparation and the different routines players follow leading into a game.
I personally used to be quite superstitious when I was a bit younger – if I played a good game, I would try to follow the same routine the next week… Same foods, training routines, pre game meal, warm up etc.
I don’t actually think it had any influence on the way I performed apart from driving me nuts trying to replicate it each week!
As I’ve got older I have certainly changed my routines and preparation a fair bit. I now just try to make sure I eat & drink the right things the Thursday/Friday leading into a game (so that my shorts fit) and know that I’ve done the right things in my preparation from a training & body point of view.
A few things I have always done is I won’t have a beer on Thursday or Friday, I always get a light massage the day before a game, I don’t move off the couch on a Friday night and I enjoy my pancakes on a Saturday morning!
It also got me thinking about some of the more interesting rituals some players go through in the lead up to games.
Jeff Gobbels loves his block of chocolate whilst on the couch on a Friday night, Blake Broadhurst spends 2 hours every Friday night on Tinder finding his perfect match, Charlie Hendrie spends a good 10 minutes with the dumbbells before we play and Jarrad Wright squirts water on his calves and boots before he runs out onto the ground… I still don’t know what this is for?
The key for preparation is that everyone is different and everyone who has played footy for a while has found something that works for them.
For example our CHB, Rod Crowe, enjoys a beer and a wine on a Friday night before a game. It’s his natural daily routine so why should he change because of footy?
It is obviously working for him!
Other players (and our coach) get pretty restless the day before a game and need to go for a run or a long walk to get it out of their system.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to routines, however I do believe in the old 6P’s adage… Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
You just have to find what works for you.