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AI coach · built on sport science

For the parent · Competition Day Kit 1/2

The car ride home.

The 20 minutes after a competition shape what your child remembers. Researchers have filmed and recorded real car rides home. Here is what helps.

1

Ask before the competition, not after

On the way there, ask one question. Your child decides, so nobody gets surprised.

"On the way home, do you want to talk, or just music?"
2

Read their face first

There is no perfect sentence. Tired, angry, happy, quiet: look first, talk second.

3

Say one thing. Then be quiet.

No marks, no "why did you fall on the second jump". Then let them lead.

"I loved watching you."
4

Food, water, quiet

They are hungry and empty. A snack does more than a talk tonight.

5

Analysis is the coach's job, on Monday

Your job tonight: the safe place. If you have a worry, tell the coach, not the child.

The next day, ask:

  • "What went well?"
  • "What did you learn?"
  • "What was fun?"
  • Praise what they control: "You kept going after the fall."

Better not:

  • "Did you win?" as the first question
  • Comparing with other children
  • Talking about the judges
  • "You are so talented" (praise effort instead)
Based on: Tamminen et al. 2017, car ride home study (talking about the car ride itself helped); Elliott and Drummond 2016, Leisure Studies (no one right thing to say, read the child's cues first); Mueller and Dweck 1998 (effort praise vs ability praise). · Nova is an AI coach. Educational content based on sport-psychology research, not medical advice. · calmandready.app
AI coach · built on sport science

For the athlete · Competition Day Kit 2/2

My 5 steps before every start.

Fill this in with your coach. Do the same 5 steps in every training run-through. On competition day your body already knows them.

1

Breathe: 2 minutes before warm-up

Slow breath out = slower heart. About 6 breaths a minute.

IN 4
OUT 6
IN 4
OUT 6
2

Notice the nerves

Fast heart, cold hands, funny stomach? Say to yourself:

"My body is getting ready."
3

Run it in my head

Headphones on. The whole program, real speed, first position to last. See it, feel it, hear the music. Don't watch the others.

4

One word for each hard element

Say what you want, never what you fear ("tall", not "don't fall").

Element
My word
Element
My word
5

My start ritual: always the same 3 moves

Example: touch the boot or shoe, one breath out, look up.

My 3:

If I fall: 3 seconds

  • Stand up
  • One breath out
  • Say the word for the next element

The night before

  • Bag packed by 7 pm, from a list
  • Phone out of the bedroom by 9
  • 2 minutes: in 4, out 6
Based on: slow-breathing and heart-rate feedback review (Goessl et al. 2017); imagery and cue-word studies with young figure skaters (Rodgers et al. 1991; Ming and Martin 1996); pre-performance routines (Cotterill 2010 review). · Nova is an AI coach. Educational content based on sport-psychology research, not medical advice. · calmandready.app