Coaches Corner is where you can learn from Pitt's Head Coaches about their sport. Today, we have some advice from Swimming and Diving Coach Chuck Knoles.
Q: What should I eat before a big game?
A: Eat something light and nutritious. When you eat a heavy meal prior to competing, your body concentrates on digesting the food and you might have reduced energy for your muscles. Eating a good meal three to four hours prior to competition is always a good idea. If you get hungry right before or during a competition, a nutrition bar, a piece of fruit, or a bagel can usually help you with your energy needs to keep you going. Remember to drink fluids (mostly water) prior to and during a competition to keep your body hydrated.
Q: How long do I need to sleep the night before a big game?
A: Sometimes, prior to a big game you will be restless and nervous because you are thinking about it so much. Don't let that get in the way of going to bed. Even if you can get to sleep, go through your regular pattern of preparing to sleep. Turn off the television, radio, or headset and lay down and close your eyes. Your body will begin to relax if you in your bed preparing to sleep, even if your mind is still nervous. Getting rest prior to a big competition is essential to performing well.
Q: How do you select team captains?
A: Our selection of team captains is rather complicated and involved. The team and coaches vote on persons they feel would best lead the team as captains. Then the four to five persons with the highest numbers of votes are interviewed first by the coaches, and then by their teammates. This is all done in the spring, prior to the upcoming year's forming of the team. The "captain nominees" are then given a trial period from the spring and through the summer, to work on helping the team out of season. Finally, in the fall when the entire team is present, including the freshmen, the team votes on the two to three candidates to select their captains.
Q: How do you get your team pumped up for a game?
A: The coaches spell out very carefully to the team in the days prior to the competition what to expect from the competition. Then, on the day of the competition, we meet together and give out competition assignments. Right before our competition starts we do team cheers to raise the spirit of the team.
Q: How do you get your team pumped up for a game?
A: The coaches spell out very carefully to the team in the days prior to the competition what to expect from the competition. Then, on the day of the competition, we meet together and give out competition assignments. Right before our competition starts we do team cheers to raise the spirit of the team.
Q: What do you say to your team after a loss?
A: We follow the same process whether we win or lose a meet. The team always gathers for the singing of the school song- the Alma Mater of the University of Pittsburgh. Then I meet with the team generally to talk about the meet in terms of where we need to go from here. I do not over-emphasize wins or losses, but performance.
Q: What is your team motto?
A: We use the motto of Teamwork, Commitment and Pride. We have a plaque above the entrance of both the women's and men's locker room doors that the student athletes must touch before entering the locker room to remind them of their Teamwork, Commitment and Pride for being on a team for Pitt.
Q: What is your practice schedule like?
A: We have nine or ten practices a week. The morning practices run from 6am-8am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. That practice includes swimming about three miles in the pool and lifting weights in Fitzgerald Field House. Then, in the afternoons Monday through Friday, we return to the pool to practice from 3-5pm. On Saturdays, we will practice from 8-10am mostly in the pool.
Q: Who makes sure that your team is doing well in the classroom during the season?
A: Studying hard and getting a degree is the most important reason for going to college. If that reasoning is turned backward and you come to college to compete and then go to school, most of the time you will not be successful, because your studies will take a back seat to being on the team. So, we remind our athletes daily about studying hard and getting good grades. We also require that students who are below a certain grade-point-average attend study hall during the school week. Requiring study hall seems to help our students concentrate on their grades.
Q: Who do you look up to as your role model?
A: I really like Thomas Jefferson. He was a man that was able to think and operated outside of the norm. His idea on freedom being a God-given right was revolutionary. His ability to put his ideas down on paper in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution helped our nation to be formed.
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