Mentally prepare yourself before you get to the race track.
Both my boys play soccer when they are not racing. I’ve had the opportunity to be an assistant coach to a successful coach that not only had a winning record but had a winning record because of how he coached the boys. We were a winning team not because he told them that they had to win-win-win, but rather he focused more on the fundamentals and the joys of the sport. Things like looking up when you have the ball and look for open lanes to pass the ball through. Passing into open space while maintaining a shape. When a teammate has the ball, you move away to not crowd the player and therefore giving your teammate another option if they need to pass the ball. I could go on and on about his coaching style and how it was different from the other coaches. I cannot count how many times the opposing coaches and parents would compliment him and how they would often seek advice for their own kids.
There was something else that he taught the parents of his players, that I think can be applied to all sports. On the way to each game, from about thirty minutes before arriving at the soccer pitch, he instructed the parents to turn off the radio and start talking about soccer. We would bring up the lessons from the week’s training and how they can be applied to the day’s game. We would bring up examples of soccer matches at the professional level and how they could be used at their playing level.
This may or may not seem like a difficult thing to do, but if you start to do this as you are on the way to the track, your racer’s mindset will be on racing and the likelihood of having a jolt to your system will be less of an issue. As you approach the track, bring up the layout of the track, the racing line of the track, the snap-in, apex and track-out points on the course and other driving techniques to work on. Ask questions of your fellow racers and each one of your driving styles. If you are in competition, talk about plans to compete against other racers and how you plan to use your mind as well as physical abilities to overcome your competitors’ exploits (in a legal manner, of course).
Putting yourself and your beginner racer in the right mindset will help with your experience and fun at the track. Doing this will also make your experiences more predictable at the track and less of a surprise. After a while, you’ll be able to have a set schedule that will flow at the track. Even things like going to the bathroom before getting out onto the track, knowing how to sign-in for the races and how to get all your racing equipment in line, will help your internal micro-management of your track-time schedule. Keeping all of this in mind before you even set foot at the racing facility. Make your time at the track the most efficient schedule you can make it. When your mindset is focused on the task ahead, your agenda will be more clear for the day. Therefore your day will be more fun and a success.
True that! And well said! These lessons can be effective for kids in many areas – racing, other sports, exams at school, speeches at school…