4 Key Tips to Get Over Nerves Before a Soccer Game/Tryout:
During the 3 ½ years since I joined Instagram, one particular question has continued to flood my direct messages:
“Ric, I play so well in training (I am the best player on the field); but when the game comes around, I feel like I’ve never played soccer in my life.”
This is understandable, but I never knew this is something that so many players struggled with from the lower youth level to the top professional level.
The Actual Feeling:
The butterflies, the jitters..
Even if you’ve never played in a competitive game, I’m sure that you’ve made a public speech
(or at least presented in front of a large group of classmates).
So you probably know the feeling..
I recall peeing in my pants (back when I was in 1st grade) when I had to present in front of my class..
I guess I was formerly a bit of a nervous public speaker.
You should, however, see me now…
Back to the topic..
Why you feel nervous:
The feeling of nervousness before doing something is called anxiety.
Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion, but it can be exacerbated when you overthink the emotion itself (which, can cause many physical symptoms, which I don’t want to get into during this article).
All in all, anxiety is worrying about some future event (where you think you may screw up or perform poorly in the event).
Most of the time, thinking in the present about the future does you no good.
So how do you fix it…
Here are 4 of My Best Tips to Overcome Nervousness Before a Soccer Game:
Tip 1: Preparation
Something that has helped me and all my clients is detailed and disciplined preparation.
When you are prepared, and you know what is coming at you, you will generally be less nervous and be less anxious about whats upcoming.
Within the context of soccer, if you have done everything in your control and power to prepare yourself for the game, you (generally) won’t be as nervous.
“Fail to prepare; prepare to fail”
-Benjamin Franklin
The Details:
This is one of the top reasons I got into the sports performance world..
If you are truly dedicated, disciplined, and committed to your off the field work (to prepare yourself for your on the field performances), you will succeed!
If you focus on optimizing your mind with breath work, meditation, reading the right books, surrounding yourself with the right people, doing hard things to make you tougher.
If you focus on training hard and training smart in the gym with a proper individualized plan specifically for you
If you analyze your game film and watch other professional players in your position…
If you eat properly in order to fuel your performance, how you feel and in accordance with your goals and training load..
If you work with the ball outside of team training and develop your technical abilities in accordance with your role and position on the field…
And, last but not least, the most important:
If you sleep properly so you can recover in an effective and efficient way so you can bounce back stronger, faster, and you can be more resilient on and off the field.
YOU WILL WIN!
Discipline is Hard:
It is very hard to be disciplined with all of those things…
That’s why signing a professional contract (and staying a professional )is very very hard.
I promise you, however, that if you are focused (on and off the field) on being the best player and person you can be, you will calm your nerves before a big match.
Every time I get online with a client for first time, I tell them about the power of performance optimization and putting the extra work in as follows:
“When you cross that white line on the weekend, and you look at that other player you are going to battle in the fight for the three points, you will know that you put the work in required to win the 1v1 duel you will have with them.”
Because that’s what soccer is..
It’s a series of 1v1 duels added up..
If your team wins the 1v1 duels, you will win the game!
Tip 2: The Power of Mindfulness & Breath:
In addition to preparing your body consistently (while off the field) over weeks, months and years leading up to a game or tryout, another powerful tool you can use is the breath.
When you work on your breath, and practice being still with yourself and your thoughts, you can bring your mind and body to ease.
Instead of being in a sympathetic/fight or flight state (which happens when you’re nervous), you can take yourself into a parasympathetic/rest and digest state, which is ideal when you are nervous or having anxiety.
To do this, you can either meditate/deep breathe a few hours before the game. or you can even do it 45-60 minutes before kickoff. (You can even do both).
Personally, I like to do both. The meditation exercise performed a few hours before the game is generally between 10-15 minutes and before kickoff, it’s as little as 3-5 minutes of breath work.
How to Do It:
A Few Hours Before:
A couple of hours before kickoff, I either use the app Calm or Headspace (and no, I’m not sponsored, not yet at least J). They have very nice guided meditations.
Or, I do the 4-7-8 method developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, which is also very helpful when you wake up to start your day (or before sleep to end your day and wind down).
Here is a video which shows me doing it, and letting you know why it will help you:
45-60 Minutes Before Kickoff:
As weird is it sounds, I will either go into the bathroom and sit in the (quiet) stall (as long as someone isn’t sitting with their pants down below their ankles in the stall next to me), or I will find a quiet space in the locker room.
In this instance, I use a box breathing method. It is very simple, and looks like this:
4 Second Inhale
4 Second Hold at the Top
4 Second Exhale
4 Second Exhale Hold
Repeat for 3-10 minutes.
Tip 3: Put things into perspective
I understand that soccer means a lot to you, but if you play poorly (which you won’t, if you follow my methods), it is not the end of the world!
The more pressure you put on yourself and the more you say “If I play badly, I am going to benched” or “If I play poorly, I will get cut,” the worse you will play.
Why?
Because pressure creates more anxiety (which we discussed before), and that is never good. You create your own pressure in your own head. No one can force you to feel pressure, it all starts in your own mind.
You began playing this game for a reason. That is because you love it (I hope), and not because your parents are pushing you to do it.
I promise you that your life doesn’t revolve around one game or tryout. You will live on, and if you play poorly, it will be okay.
Making mistakes won’t end your career. If you don’t get selected during a trial, it isn’t the end of the world.
There will be many more opportunities, and you will learn. There is always room to learn from your “losses.”
Bottom Line:
In a year, I guarantee you won’t remember this game or trial, so stop worrying. Go out there, and have fun playing the beautiful game!
Tip 4: Develop a Ritual
A ritual or routine is a set of practices and or steps that you perform before an event, to help you to feel more comfortable and well prepared.
Many professional players that I have played with, have a ritual before a game that helps get them focused and “in the zone” before the game.
Your ritual all depends on you, and what works for you..
What works for others may not work for you.
As I often say, however, the only way you can find out, is to take ideas from others, experiment and see what works for you, and what makes you feel best.
The most important part of that ritual should be eating a good quality dinner, and getting 8-9 quality hours of sleep the night before, as well as eating a proper pre-game meal.
If you want more information on that final yet very important step, check out this video here on how to eat a proper pre-game meal:
Other things you can include:
- Listen to music.
- Talk to your teammates. Joke around, have some banter.
- Watch highlights that you should have of other professional players.
- Put the left sock on before the right.
Nothing is right or wrong. Do what works for you!
At the end of the day, it is impossible to completely eliminate all nervousness. Sometimes, nerves acting up can be good. They don’t always have to be bad.
It shows that you are excited and ready to play the game!
Once you get out there, and get into the groove and the flow of things, I promise you will never remember those pre-game jitters ever again.
I hope this helped you.
As always, stay safe, healthy and keep yourself well!
Ric