I was excited for my first preseason as a DI athlete. I wanted to show my new program that they made the right decision choosing me, but I knew I needed to level up before stepping foot on campus.
Fueled by a little ambition and a little bit of nerves, I put a plan together after high school graduation to prepare for my first college preseason.
8 Tips for Athletes Preparing for their First Preseason
Establish goals. I didn’t arrive to campus early like a few of my lucky AAU teammates… they reported in early and got a head start on classes and conditioning. So in the interim, I created my own program. My goals included getting in shape, staying healthy before preseason and focusing on my mental health. Setting my own cadence helped me feel really confident heading into preseason.
Create a schedule. I’m a planner by nature, and in order to set myself up for success I needed to plan all of my workouts. I had a ton of plans before college started, so I wanted to make sure I maxed out my workout time before September arrived. I made sure to schedule my workouts around my part time job, family vacations, holidays and more.
Learn the fundamentals. At the time, my high school didn’t have our basketball team lift. I was really fortunate that after my senior year of high school, my parents gifted me with a few sessions at New York Sports Club to work with a personal trainer. My trainer Janet taught me the fundamentals and thanks to her, I didn’t feel behind once I arrived to campus. Although my lifting coach at CCSU made sure my form was solid before I could lift independently, I went in understanding the basics… which helped when I learned we lifted at least 4 times a week during preseason.
Hit the court. While I was gifted that gym membership to lift, almost all of my basketball workouts happened outside. Growing up I didn’t pay for personal training sessions at indoor gyms. Looking back, I feel like training on the blacktop helped really helped prepare to compete at any level.
Early in the summer, I would play pick up after I finished working at summer camp. My dad and I would also work on ball handling, shooting and other drills to keep my skills fresh.
Use program suggestions. In May or June after I graduated from high school I received a conditioning book from my coaches at Central. The book contained a summer-long schedule of workouts that would help me prepare for preseason. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what some of the workouts were: a clean, a push press, or a dead-lift. But, I focused on what I could do and worked with my trainer to learn the fundamentals.
There were also suggested workouts I wanted to do, but I couldn’t access facilities needed to complete them. For example, my college coaches recommended I incorporate a pool workout into my routine each week. Membership to a local pool would’ve cost a lot, so I replaced swimming with other workouts to help keep my fitness in check.
Start small. Any athlete who is serious about their craft knows that getting to the next level takes time. Even though I might’ve been a top athlete in high school, being competitive as a DI athlete would take months and/or years of training.
I decided to start small by increasing my workouts each day. Early summer meant playing pick-up and doing drills I was familiar with. By the time August arrived, I was working out twice a day incorporating new lifting techniques and Division I conditioning workouts.
Focus on nutrition. Yes, summer is my peak ‘pig out’ season- between cookouts, carnivals, late nights, etc., it’s so tempting to eat all of the foods and do all of the things. But, I realized that I had a very limited time to feel good and prepared for 1 of 4 preseasons.
While I didn’t deprive myself from the good things (a July 4th burger and fries, my mom’s homemade chocolate cake for my birthday, etc.) I made sure to limit sugary foods and drinks, processed foods, and I did my best to fuel with healthy foods. I also really appreciated my mom who did most of our grocery shopping and made sure our home was stocked with really healthy foods and snacks.
Part of my nutrition also meant being smart with my body. I limited my time in the sun, rested when I could, and made sure I iced and kept my body healthy.
Prepare mentally. The end of my high school career was tough. During my junior year a few family members were diagnosed with cancer. A few of those loved ones also passed away before I graduated. That, combined with typical stress of high school meant I had to acknowledge a lot of the problems I faced and focus on my mental health before I reported college.
At the time mental health wasn’t really talked about like it is now, but I did what I needed to ‘get my mind right’ as we used to say back in the day. This took a few forms:
- Finding time for myself. This might’ve included time at home, sitting outside, or sitting in my car by myself
- Watching summer tournaments. Living in the burbs of NYC, we were 30-40 minutes away from watching the some of the best basketball talent. Many summer afternoons I’d ride into the city with my dad to watch games at west 4th street, HITS, Rucker Park and more. Watching incredible talent boosted my mood and motivated me to keep working hard.
- Visualizing myself as a DI athlete. Seeing myself working hard, staying focused in school and visualizing success in my future.
- Giving myself grace. Not stressing about the milestones I didn’t accomplish as a high school athlete or the regrets I had academically/athletically. I worked hard to train my brain to forgive and move forward
Despite all of the crazy steps above, keeping to my schedule allowed me to enjoy my summer, giving me the perfect balance to work hard and relax. The best part was- I felt SO good going into preseason in the best shape possible.
Was I sore and hurting like all of my teammates in September? Absolutely! I had never been that sore in my life lol. But, I wasn’t struggling to keep up or fighting off injury. Preparing for my first preseason helped me so much and I advise every athlete to do the same.