This week saw the last UK School Games in Sheffield, next year it will be known as “The School Games”. I don’t know the significance of this but I’m sure there is a really good explanation!

Well my preparation for this event has been up and down and my performance could be summed up in the same way. After the 2008 Olympics a reporter asked Craig Fallon why he had performed the way he did, surely he had spent 4 years preparing for his games, Craig replied that on the day he fought the best he could. It is only now that I fully understand what he meant by his reply. He didn’t mean that the performance he gave was his best, it was just the best he could manage on that particular day. This is how I feel about my UK School Games, I didn’t fight to a fraction of my ability but it was all I could do on that day. This is something I really need to understand and learn from. I always believe that when you can understand the reason then you can control the future outcomes.

Yesterday saw me fight in the “heart of england” (HOE) competition. This is one of the main events on the domestic BJA calender and good results are needed to ensure selection for the england squad, it is classed as a ranking event to gain points for selection. As mentioned on my previous blog, I am going through a transition at the moment and as important as this event is my coaches goal was not to win, but to start putting some of my new judo into practice. I competed in both the senior competition and also the junior competition. This means I was also testing my fitness and mental resolve. A goal I set myself at the beginning of the day was to win some sort of medal in the senior category, this would give me sufficient points to attend the trials for the seniors event for selection for the senior squad. Well the day started well and I won the gold medal. I felt comfortable and relaxed and despite tough opposition I feel I fought really well. Goal achieved I could now relax and enjoy the rest of the day, whatever happened now was just a bonus.