Technical Time Outs
Athlete stories and discussions from around the world,
beyond the scores, stats and what we see on the court.
beyond the scores, stats and what we see on the court.
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Written by: Alexander Mrkalj 1. Being completely self-dependentI knew that coming to live in a different province and leading a completely different lifestyle was going to be a huge challenge, but it would be a challenge that has a giant payoff in the long term. Most people go into their post-secondary career never having spent much time away from home, and that statement is completely true for myself. I’ve always had the guidance of my parents and I was excited to live on my own to see just how self-dependent I could be. Living on my own requires me to get myself to practice on my own every day, prepare nutritious meals for myself, keep my living space clean, and build new habits for myself that enable me to live the lifestyle of a high performance athlete. Previously, my parents would do most of this for me, and as nice as it seems in the moment, it made me too dependent upon them. It has truly been an eye opening experience to live by myself and to do some of the things on my own that I have taken for granted for so many years. If I could offer my advice to young volleyball athletes, it would be to start being more dependent on yourself at a younger age. By no means do you have to start cooking meals for yourself every single day, you’re still a kid. I advise taking small steps that will ultimately have a long term payoff. Prepare your own meals before a tournament, learn to cook from your parents, maybe even start to do your own laundry if you don’t do so already. I suggest taking these small steps so that when you do get to the point in your life where you are living on your own, you will not feel the pressure of not knowing how to take care of yourself. This has been an invaluable lesson to me, and it has helped me grow as a person because I’m taking responsibility for my own high performance lifestyle. 2. Proper Warm-Up/Cool-Down Every PracticeWarming up before practice was something I took very seriously during my years of club volleyball. I made sure I was activated and ready to play at all times, and would show up extra early to practice to ensure that I achieved this goal. However, I did not take the cool-down as seriously. After practice I would put on my sweatpants and walk right out of the gym. The combination of warming up and cooling down properly is what provides an athlete with the longevity of their career. An athlete that does not warm up or cool down properly is at a higher risk of getting injured and breaking down early on in their careers, which does not provide a promising athletic career. Every day, my teammates and I show up to the gym twenty minutes before practice starts to do our ‘individual protocol’. This is very personalized and allows us to work on areas that are extra sore, need more activation, or are weaker than others. My protocol consists of foam rolling my legs, rolling my shoulders and back with a lacrosse ball, planks for core activation, along with eccentric squats and band walks. This protocol works well for me, but it may not work well for everyone. Luckily, younger volleyball athletes have wide access to different strength coaches who are looking to help you improve. Having an effective protocol that you are committed to will certainly prolong your career, so be sure to use the resources you have available to you. After our protocols, we warm up with various dynamic stretches and get into pepper for about 10 minutes and then we start to train. At the end of practice, I take about 15-20 minutes to effectively cool down by rolling out and stretching my shoulders and hips. Playing volleyball gives me so much enjoyment, so I do everything in my power to be fully prepared for each practice through my warm up and cool down. I would recommend that all athletes take this much more seriously because this is the foundation of a long and injury-free volleyball career. Instead of messing around on court before practice, take those extra 5-10 minutes and get activated. When you’re watching TV or Netflix, take out your foam roller and be productive as you kick back for a bit. I have been very fortunate to not have sustained any major injuries, and while it isn’t always in our control, it is vital that we do our best to prevent injury as best we can to enjoy our volleyball careers and to lead happy and healthy lifestyles after volleyball. 3. Learner Mode vs. Performer ModeOne of the amazing things that I have learned at the NEP is the difference between being a learner and being a performer. In order to be a high performance athlete, you need to be able to do both, however, the timing is what needs to be taken note of. In our morning trainings, we do a lot of skill work, whereas, in the afternoons we do a lot of 6 on 6 gameplay. Our coach, Dan Lewis, constantly reminds us to be in learner mode in the morning and to be in performer mode in the afternoon. Essentially, what this means is that when we are doing our skill work in the morning, we should not be too focused about the results we produce. Most times we are trying a brand new tactic or an adjustment to a skill that we want to execute in game, so we are not expected to be perfect immediately. Being in learner mode allows us to actively think about the skill we are executing by thinking about the small details that our coach will point out. For example, if we are working on reception with our hands we need to actively be thinking about attacking the ball, squaring up to the target, and getting low to give the ball lift. This is quite contrary to being in performer mode because performer mode is about executing the skills we have developed through learner mode. It’s not about overthinking the small details, but rather, being competitive with teammates and trusting that the skills we’ve developed in learner mode will lead to our success. Thus, there is a big emphasis on learner mode because it shapes the way you perform. You can’t develop new skills and perform new tactics if you don’t train your mind to analyze things in practice. One common fault I find with people is that they mix the two modes up very frequently, and I think it is an important lesson to learn. When we find ourselves in a practice situation, we don’t want to make errors because we feel embarrassed by them. Therefore, when we train, we focus too much on the results instead of focusing on getting better at executing on the skill at hand. Also, when we find that things aren’t going well in a game situation, we look internally and begin to break down all the skills during competition as if we’re in learner mode. The mind cannot focus on that much at a time. When you compete, you need to compete and not focus on the small skills you should have been focusing on in learner mode. This has been one of the most important lessons I’ve learned at the NEP because in club volleyball I did not distinguish between learning and competition. Only now do I realize the importance of focusing your mind to the task at hand, be that learning or competing. 4. Mental Performance TrainingWe are lucky as a group to be able to work with an amazing mental performance coach named Kyle Paquette. Every Tuesday morning we spend about an hour and a half in a group discussion with Kyle about what makes a great performer and how to train our minds. The material we learn is very relatable and it is enjoyable to partake in our group discussions as we pursue the mastery of the mental side of the sport. Two practices that I’ve started as a result of learning from Kyle and wanting to be a better mental performer are journalling and meditation. These are two habits I’ve created here that help me achieve my goals as a high performance athlete and will carry on as important tools for the rest of my life. Journalling is very open-ended in regards to what you want to write about, and that’s the beauty of it. You can write about your practices, your food intake, a daily bite of knowledge… the list goes on! I journal 2 times a day, one before the morning session to set my goals and one before bed to reflect on how I went about my day. I think it is a very powerful tool that athletes should start to use because if you start journaling now, it will be cool to look down the road in a few short years to see how far you have come as an athlete, a student, and a person. Meditating has a certain stereotype around it - legs crossed in an upright seated position with the palms facing upwards while gently muttering, “Ohmmm”. Meditating is completely different, and is has been widely researched over the past decade proving that it helps enhance athletic performance. Meditating is nothing other than sitting up in your bed, being present with your thoughts, and filtering thoughts as needed. I meditate after I journal every day (so twice a day), and for guidance I use the Headspace app that can be found on your phone. It is such a great guide through meditation because it tells you what to focus on and how you should be feeling. Any athlete that is ready to take their game to the next level needs to start journalling and meditating. The mental side of the game is just as important as the physical side of the game, so by starting to train the mind at a younger age, the payoff will be enormous in your volleyball career. 5. Pride Behind The JerseyPutting on a Team Canada jersey is something that I’ve dreamed of ever since I started playing volleyball. This opportunity has been a dream come true for me because I get to play the sport I love every day. When you find your passion, working hard for a goal doesn’t seem like a job. One thing I never realized is how lucky I was to wear my own club team jersey and I truly hope that all athletes realize how blessed they are to be able to put that jersey on and compete. Remember to be grateful for where you are currently, and never stop working towards your goals because anything can be achieved with persistent hard work! Alexander Mrkalj (centre) trains with the National Team's National Excellence Program in Gatineau, Quebec. Previously, he has been a member of Team Canada's Youth National team, Team Ontario's Canada Games team and has recently accepted his offer to attend school at Princeton University in the United States.
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AuthorTechnical Time Outs are written by former & current athletes, and are their own candid experiences & perspectives. Archives
September 2019
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