Last moments before the action begins – keep it short: I am known as one of the most long winded people on the internet a reputation that you, My long suffering readers, know is well deserved but when a match is just about to start, I am a man of few words indeed. I actively look to take the main themes of the training camp and crystallize them into short pithy phrases that remind the athlete in a simplified form what he or she worked so hard upon and what we believe are the keys to winning this match. This is not the time for discussion or articulation – but for action. A quick collection of bullet points convey the main ideas and often serve as a valuable means of focusing upon the essential themes required for victory. I also find they can calm nerves as they convey a plan of action that the athlete can focus upon in those last adrenaline charged moments. Here, Gordon Ryan and myself run through some brief advice to a very relaxed looking Garry Tonon, who would use it perfectly to take another submission victory around ten minutes later.
