Water Up - A Guide To Being Awesome

This is something we've all heard far too many times to take it seriously: "Make sure you drink lots of water before the tourney this weekend, guys." I've said it a lot, and I've been told it a lot over my ultimate career, and really I've only begun to take it seriously this season, but I'm now a habitual H2O drinker, and a firm believer in its power. I began trying to keep myself hydrated in late June when I started having hamstring problems. I was doing everything I could to try to be able to play again, so I started adding in an extended warm-up routine along with keeping myself hydrated. Here's a rundown of what I do to keep my body in good enough condition to contribute to my team for a full season, and more specifically for a tourney weekend.

• Begin watering up Thursday night - I try to have as much water as I can Thursday night, which usually amounts to about a gallon or so.
• Get some good sleep Thursday night - this is usually the toughest part of my routine, since this is usually the night when I start getting excited for the tournament.
• Begin mentally preparing Friday during the day - begin going over what you're going to do to help your team succeed over the weekend in your head. Think about your strengths and weaknesses as a player, and how you'll use your strengths and hide your weaknesses on and off the field. Since I nearly always handle on team I play for, I like to go over every possible situation I could be in on offense, i.e. cutting for a dump, clearing out when my cut is shut down, how I will follow a throw to an in-cut, etc. Defensively, I think about how I can best use my athleticism and then start to get psyched about coming up with a big D at the right moment. If this doesn't get you excited for the weekend, you're in the wrong sport.
• Continue watering up all day Friday - It's important not to have too much water, but for most of us the main issue is in not having enough. Here's a resource if you're worried about drinking too much.
• Friday night: Bromance Time - The best thing to do on a Friday night before a tournament, in my opinion, is hangout with your teammates. It doesn't matter what you do. Play some Xbox, go to the BBC, try to build a life size replica of Rocky Balboa in your living room out of Busch Light cans, whatever. Just get some of your team together and hangout. Share with each other your excitement and concerns for the weekend. This will assure that any of your teammates that weren't already psyched for the weekend are now in the right frame of mind. Don't forget to sleep.
  
• Saturday Morning: Get there too early - Seriously, I guarantee you won't get to the fields so early that it'll hurt your game. 1.5 hours is a decent amt of time for a good warm-up and time to go over plans for the day with your team. Being at the fields cleated up and throwing, or better yet, jogging, when your opponent gets there is a big mental edge. At this point you may as well have just scored the first goal. Only 14 more.
• Sip of water after each point - this one is big. At ISU I played nearly every point for most of the 3 years I was there, and so watering up was tough. Usually I'd try to drink some between games, but even if I drank til I felt like I was going to puke it wasn't enough. When you're exercising you can only drink so much water at once. It's much more effective to just drink a little bit after each time you sub. This will go a long way especially on hot days. Same goes for food. Try to space it out during games. Half a bagel here, and a banana (gross) there rather than gorging during your bye.
• Warm-up jog (at least) before every game - You'll thank me Monday, when you're not as tight as you usually are and you haven't pulled anything. You'll also thank me when you're actually prepared for the first 3 points of rounds 2-5.
• MORE WATER! Saturday night, make your pee clear.
• Light exercise early Monday - by early, I mean before the afternoon is over. Early morning is even better. Do something to help get your muscles moving and the soreness out. Racquetball was a favorite of mine for this, some people like to go for a jog, and I've heard that swimming is the best option.

Follow these 10 steps and you'll be handblocking Douglas Daube in no time (fact). Seriously though, these are easy ways to keep yourself performing at your peak ability and, arguably more importantly, not let down your teammates by getting injured.

p.s. Saturday night, have as many cups of water as you do beer. If you feel like you can't drink anymore water without puking, you've had enough beers.

p.p.s. I spell-checked this in word, and apparently I write at a 7th grade level. Only 1 more year to high school!

p.p.p.s. This is Ryan, not Sam