5 Ways to Overcome Game-Day Jitters

You have your game
face on and you are
ready for the big day.
Or so you thought.
You may be asking
yourself, "Where did
this anxiety come
from?" Try as you may,
the more you think
about it the more it will
haunt you.
Here's what you need
to do to shake the
pregame butterflies:
Get Focused on Your
Body
Good athletes know
their bodies well. It is
important to be present
and aware of how you
are breathing, what
your muscles are doing,
etc. Take some deep
breaths. Count up to
four or five as you
inhale and out to five or
six as you exhale. This
will help you relax and
stay in your body. You
may even positively
influence other players
on your team by setting
this good example.
Trust Your Training
There is an old farm
saying, "The hay is in
the barn." What this
refers to is the time
when a farmer cuts his
hay, bales it up, drives it
into the barnyard, and
stacks it in the barn.
When this is done it is a
huge sigh of relief. You
know the animals will
be fed for the winter.
The same applies to
your day. Your "hay" is in
the barn. You have done
all the training needed
and have earned the
right to celebrate your
skills on this important
game day. Don't try to
sneak in any more
training or try
something different at
the last minute. Trust
that your body and
mind are ready to
compete. Celebrate and
enjoy what you have
successfully trained for.
Don't Allow Yourself
to Get Distracted
While others may be
distracted by weather,
conditions of a field,
who the opponent
might be, what the
team record is, etc., you
just need to do what
you came to do.
Distractions take
energy away from you.
Conserve that energy
for the game. Stay on
task by visualizing
yourself playing a great
game.
Use Your Recall
Button
Great athletes do not
predict their next move
or action based on their
last failure. They stop,
do a little positive self-
talk, replay a great play
in their head and then
perform to their peak
level. Hanging on to a
missed or failed shot
will not only affect your
performance, it will
affect the team as
well.
Prepare for Glitches
It is one thing to
mentally rehearse great
shots in a game. It is
how we expect
ourselves to perform. I
would be remiss if I did
not suggest that you
plan for that shot that
you hoped would never
happen. Just as you
visualize the great
shots, it is equally
important to mentally
rehearse the "glitches."
A glitch is when
something does not go
as planned or expected.
It can broadside you if
you are not prepared.
Emphasis should not be
placed on the bad shot,
it should be on seeing
yourself recover
immediately. Since it is
inevitable that we have
these once in awhile, it
will not take you off
guard and you will have
an image that resets
you back on track.