Not all practice sessions are the same, though. If you have your eye on a podium finish, you need conscious, consistent practice. Practice that has a clear goal. Practice that improves team communication and flow. Practice that gives you the space to make the fundamentals second nature.

Here are three tips to help you practice better:

1. Give yourself dedicated practice sessions. If you want smooth, accelerating tacks, consistently clean hoists, and coordinated, efficient gybes, your crew needs the time and the space to work the kinks out of your maneuvers. Then give yourself 30 minutes of warmup time before each race to run through maneuvers, get focused on the race ahead and make sure there are no rigging surprises.
2. Set a clear goal for each session on the water. Whether it’s a dedicated practice session or a race, you need to know what you’re working on that day. Set a clear goal for yourselves before you go out on the water. A clear goal helps you be more conscious about your progress and feel more confident at the end of the day.
3. Record and debrief. Debriefs are essential to making progress and improving team communication. To set debriefs up for success, record trainings and races (when allowed) with a GoPro 7 or higher, and upload the footage through the Kinetix AI software. The Kinetix AI software will allow you to focus on the most important moments of the day. Watch the footage together as a team when you get back on land, or each member of the team can watch the videos on their own time, tag the moments they want to review as a team. Give yourselves a 30-minute meeting to discuss what you observed in the footage and identify 3 things to work on in your next practice session.