Justin, Lots of good Advise above. When I started tournament fishing it was a ( natural progression ) so I thought. Grew up in the 70's 80's blah blah with all the hype and B.A.S.S. taking off so I thought I should do it. The first few tournaments were fun then it got to be exactly what they are, which is competition and I thrived on it right to the point I started hating fishing as it was more like a job. Don't be fooled for one minute when a guy tells you how lucky he is to be in one or is a guide its not LUCK its a job. If you fish for fun and relaxation tournaments can turn you off of what you love or make you very frustrated and not look forward to it but like a job you will drag yourself out of bed to do it.
Im not saying all people feel that way but when people talk to me about tournament fishing I tell them all the same thing because I want them to understand the "mental" aspect and toll that tournaments can extract on a person.
Jerry's advise was awesome but I add this to people. When you shadow fish a tournament donate the entry fee to a charity put out the expenses and time, simulate everything about a tournament you can. The best tournament anglers win because of what I still to this day believe is 90% mental game. They beat people because of the mental attitude more than anything else.