The event is over. Now what?

Want to get more out of your last tournament? Don't just move on or replay every lost touch. Take a few minutes to figure out what actually happened and what you can do about it.

I've tried a few approaches over the years. Good, bad, ugly. These days, I like SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. It's a framework borrowed from business, but it works surprisingly well for tournament review because it forces you to look at the whole picture, not just the parts that hurt.

This past weekend at the NAC, I knew going in that running our Fencing.Community booth would compete with my focus on the strip. It did. But looking back, there were still real positives: winning bouts at the Division I level and finding single lights when they counted against some tough fencers.

My performance didn't fully reflect the weeks of training I'd put in. That doesn't mean the training was wasted. I had competing priorities, and now I know what I want to change next time. That's a much more useful takeaway than simply being frustrated with the result.

That's what a good post-event review does. It helps you separate what you can control from what you can't, recognize what worked, and identify what to bring into your next training block.

Do it the same day if you can, while the details are fresh. Then revisit it at your next practice with teammates. Talking through what you saw, what you felt, and what you'd do differently can surface things you missed on your own.

One action this week: Run a quick SWOT on your last event. Four categories, honest answers:

- Strengths: What worked? What did you do well? - Weaknesses: Where did your game break down? - Opportunities: What could you learn, practice, or add to your game? - Threats: What got in the way of performing your best?

Don't just write down what went wrong. Give yourself credit for what went right, too. The goal isn't to relive the tournament. It's to make the next one better.