Warm ups are for mental preparation as well as physical preparation. So I would tell the players the team selection first,” says Dan Wright, Technical Advisor at PDP. “Some coaches prefer to announce the team afterward, but I think players could then be distracted during the warm up, wondering if they’re playing or in what position. In my opinion, if you can clear some of that up beforehand, it’s often more successful. “In terms of the team talk, I tend to mix it up when I do it. Sometimes I’ll do a warm up and intersperse talks within it. So, for example, if we’re doing some sprints before we get on the balls, I might do sprints, a 30-second talk, then get on the balls, and then talk for another 30 seconds. I try to mix things up because I think it can get a bit monotonous for the players if you just talk for 15 minutes.