Danny Amendola and his professional partner Witney Carson danced their way into the Dancing with the stars Season 33 finale on Tuesday evening, November 19th.

Performance of a Viennese waltz and salsa dance to the music of John Mayer And Cardi BAmendola and Carson scored nines throughout and reached the final with four other pairs. Even though their performance was good enough to advance (and since there were no eliminations), you judge Derek Hough expressed constructive criticism for the former NFL wide receiver. Hough believed that Amendola was holding back emotionally during her waltz.

“I welcome any criticism,” said Amendola, 39 Us weekly exclusively. “I try to get better every week. And the judges are obviously great professional dancers. So the more information I can absorb from them, the better.”

It’s an expected reaction for someone who’s been trained all their life. Amendola spent more than a decade in the NFL and is now a coach with the Las Vegas Raiders. He even trains Carson’s three-year-old son Leo.

Amendola took his approach as a professional athlete and applied it to him Dancing with the stars. He outlined his pre-show routine like a football player would during game week.

“I would say, just do as many reps as you can and stay in the zone, stay focused,” he said. “You have to block out all the glitz and glamor of a live TV broadcast and instead focus on and prepare for the whole week. So that’s really what we do.”

According to Amendola, last week that meant doing drills with props to prepare for a dance where they had to catch a hat.

Carson, 31, agreed with her partner’s approach, adding that the challenge is staying focused during the week while being mindful of outside distractions.

Related: Danny Amendola Is ‘More Sore’ From ‘DWTS’ Than NFL Practice: ‘Icing’

The NFL has nothing to do with Dancing With the Stars – just ask Danny Amendola. “My joints hurt a lot more. We play on grass, so it’s a little softer. “The hardwood is like I’m icing over,” Amendola, 38, told Us Weekly exclusively following the season 33 premiere of “Dancing With the Stars” on Tuesday, September (…)

“We just lock ourselves away,” she said. “It’s really easy to get distracted by everything, the fans and the other participants. So you really have to focus on what you’re doing.”

Now it’s on to the finale, where Amendola and Carson will perform a redemption dance and routine in hopes of being crowned the winners. Neither was willing to reveal much about their routines for the next week, but both agreed on one thing fans could expect.

“Something unforgettable,” they both said.

Amendola, Carson and four other pairs will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy Dancing with the stars Season finale on Tuesday, November 26th at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+. You can stream episodes on Disney+ the next day.