Focus:  Breathing

10 minutes – Discussion Points/Important Questions:

Why is breathing important in biathlon? So we can learn to control it to make it consistent for shooting.

Describe how the best breathing pattern goes. Deep breath in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, final breath out and hold around 50%. (I know there are different % to teach this at, but I find 50% is easy for kids to understand).

Have an athlete draw a good breathing pattern on the white board or paper. Spikes are the breaths, and stars are the shots. Something like:

15 minutes – Head Out to Range, Zero, Confirm, and Start 10 Minute Warm-up

35 minutes – Combo Practice Working on Session Focus

What to look for: Consistent breathing between shots, breath stopping then 1-3 seconds before the shot is taken.

25 minutes – 1 Skill/Drill Based on Focus: White Paper Drill

For this drill there will be a piece of white paper – where “Charlie” would be should work. Athletes will have to naturally align on their target. Do their breathing pattern and make sure to stop their breath at the exact same spot each time they take a shot. Then repeat for 20 shots. Look through the scope after each 5. See if they can make it tighter.

1 Game: Follow the Lead – Who can hit the most? Coach will loudly call the shooting process. I.e. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, half out, 1…2…3… (shot should be taken by 3). Athletes will take 10 shots this way with coach leading and see who has the most hits at the end. If there is a tie of athletes who hit 10/10, then continue elimination style until one remains.