Away days are a unique experience for players. There is a certain amount of travel involved, so when you are planning the trip, you want to be able to allot extra time in case of traffic or other stops that may happen. Players will need to ensure they have all the necessary supplies needed for the day out. Without being at home, you don’t have the luxury of having everything you need within a short distance.
One thing that people like to do when traveling to away games is car pool if there are no team buses. Coaches will need to set arrival time to ensure the team is either at the team bus or the destination no later than that time so that you can keep all of your game-day preparations in order.
Being the away team means that you will need to prepare in unfamiliar ground, and will need to bring additional supplies like extra clothes, and your away uniforms. You will need to bring any necessary equipment with you like extra pads, and anything that you may require throughout the game.
Most of your game preparation will be done before you even get to your destination. Pre-game studying, game strategies, and even equipment preparation are usually done in advance and are just reviewed when you arrive at the game site. Recreational teams sometimes do not go over detailed strategies, but competitive leagues have new strategies in place for each and every team that they face in an attempt to exploit their weaknesses.
While it may seem like common sense, you may prefer taking full advantage of available warm up time on the home team court just to get a feel for the venue and get used to it. Each and every court is different. Things like lighting and even the court can just react differently to what you are used to, and you will need to familiarize yourself as much as possible.
Team Spirit is even more important while you are on the road because you don’t have the home team crowd pumping you up. Coaches need to ensure that the team spirit remains positive and that they don’t get overwhelmed by the opposing team’s home crowd.
Away teams need to ensure that they feed off of their coach when they can’t feed off of the crowd. A coach is everything to a team when they are on the road. He is their coach and their cheering section. Coaches are one of the essential tools on the road and at home and are sometimes underestimated. Teams need to listen to what their coach has to say and follow his instructions.
While you will be caught up in getting prepared for a game, you need to have some fun and enjoy the surroundings. Whether you are an hour away from your home town, or 12 hours away, enjoy the trip! Being in unfamiliar territory during a game-day doesn’t mean you can’t take a few teammates and go have a bite to eat or try something new. Coaches will occasionally organize team outings during away game days just to keep the tension low, and to ensure that the team has fun. After all, some play to win, some play for a love of the game, but no matter what you play for, everyone needs to have fun.
