Handling the Unexpected on Competition Day

Your physical fitness is not the only factor that influences your performance, so

why would it be the only thing we train?

As Target Training’s mental performance coach and new program manager, one of my

biggest goals when I started building our curriculum for the 10WW this season was to

integrate our current physical training with elements of the mindset training I teach in

TTYB (Target Train Your Brain).

Over the past six weeks, we have highlighted

• goal setting,

• self-talk,

• visualization,

• and more

However, one of my favorites this season is built upon Target Training’s consistent mindset staple—mental toughness.

Every season we ask our athletes to come up with a motivational phrase they can recite

in times of challenge. These could be an activating word like “Fight” or inspiring

reminders such as “I am strong” or “I can do this.”

However, this season we took it one step farther.

One of the hardest times to actually utilize mental toughness is when dancers need to

adapt. We spend countless hours trying to train every variable to assure success, but

unexpected things tend to happen all the time at competitions.

• You might arrive to the venue to find your stage is running thirty minutes early.

• Someone dancing with you might fall and suddenly you need to re-dance your whole first round.

• The night before you compete the hotel fire alarm might go off causing you to feel tired the next morning.

It is easy to let these moments rattle you.

But rather than accept their potential negative impact on your performance, why not train the mentally tough response we want instead?

This is what inspired us to introduce “Pivot Points” into our classes.

Throughout our classes, our coaches have begun calling out “pivot”—asking dancers

to go for a longer effort, take a shorter break, add a couple more reps, or switch

exercises entirely.

By reinforcing this process within their training, dancers are building

their capacity to remain calm, focused, and determined in the face of unexpected

challenges. Instead of allowing their initial emotions (e.g., confusion, frustration, or

fatigue) to dictate their responses, dancers are training themselves to reset quickly back to

their maximum effort.

The ability to pivot is a powerful tool for dancers to have. It creates a safety net that

helps physical work to still show up at its maximum capacity and potential—regardless

of unexpected problems.

As this week’s example highlights, optimal performance takes both mind and body,

and here at TT we are proud to be emphasizing both within our program!

Happy Training!

Coach Sav