Why you get nervous before a game
Let's start with what's actually happening in your body. Because once you understand the mechanism, the anxiety stops being so scary.
When a game is approaching, your brain evaluates the situation as a potential threat. Not because you're weak. Because you care. The amygdala — the part of your brain that monitors danger — triggers a cascade of hormones. Adrenaline and cortisol flood your bloodstream. Your heart rate spikes. Breathing speeds up. Muscles tense. Hands start shaking.
This is the fight-or-flight response. The same mechanism that helped our ancestors escape predators. Your body is gearing up for peak performance. The problem is, this system can't tell the difference between a saber-toothed tiger and a regional championship final.
Important: Pre-game anxiety is not weakness. It's a biological response that says: "This matters to me and I want to perform well." Every professional athlete experiences it. The difference is in how they deal with it.
Sports psychology research shows that approximately 85% of elite athletes experience anxiety before important games. So the goal isn't to eliminate anxiety. The goal is to manage it and channel it into energy.
Here's what's happening physiologically: adrenaline increases blood flow to your muscles, dilates your pupils (so you can see better), and speeds up your reactions. Cortisol releases energy reserves. Your body is literally switching into race mode. That's actually exactly what you want. You just need that engine running at the right RPM — not redlining.
How to tell when anxiety helps and when it hurts
Here's the key thing most athletes don't know: there are two types of anxiety. And understanding the difference changes everything.
Activating anxiety (the good kind)
You feel tension, but also excitement. Your body is amped up, but your head is relatively clear. Your thoughts are focused on what you want to do — not on what you're afraid of. You've got butterflies in your stomach, but not a knot. Your hands are a bit sweaty, but it's not a big deal.
This kind of anxiety actually makes you better. It sharpens your reflexes, heightens your awareness, gives you energy. A lot of athletes say they perform worse without it. And they're right.
Paralyzing anxiety (the bad kind)
You feel panic. You can't breathe properly. Your legs feel like lead. Your thoughts are spiraling: "What if I choke? What if I make a mistake? Everyone will be watching." You can't focus on tactics because your head is full of worst-case scenarios.
This kind of anxiety holds you back. It narrows your peripheral vision, slows decision-making, blocks muscle memory. Your body is in "flee" mode, not "fight" mode.
Quick test: Before your next game, ask yourself: "Am I excited, or am I scared?" If the answer is somewhere in between, you're fine. If the answer is pure fear with zero excitement, you need to step in. That's exactly what the techniques below are for.
Interesting fact: researchers have described this phenomenon as the inverted U (Yerkes-Dodson Law). Performance rises with increasing arousal, but only up to a point. Beyond that threshold, it drops sharply. The goal isn't zero anxiety. The goal is to stay at the top of that U — amped up enough, but not overwhelmed.
How do you know where your tipping point is? Watch for these signals:
- Breathing: If you're taking short, shallow breaths and can't take a deep one, you've crossed the line.
- Legs: If you feel heaviness or "rubber legs," paralyzing anxiety has taken over.
- Thoughts: If catastrophic scenarios keep looping in your head and you can't stop them, it's time to use a technique.
- Hands: A slight tremor is normal. Uncontrollable shaking means the adrenaline is overflowing.
The Mental Edge: 25 Mental Techniques for Athletes
These are 2 of 25 techniques. You'll find the rest in the e-book The Mental Edge.
Learn more →Technique #1: Box Breathing (4-4-4-4)
This technique comes from the U.S. Navy SEALs. They use it before life-or-death operations. If it works for them, it'll work for you before a game.
Box Breathing works because it directly influences your autonomic nervous system. When you consciously slow your breathing, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system — the one that tells your body "relax, we're safe." This lowers cortisol levels and slows your heart rate. Not by a lot, but enough to shift you from paralyzing anxiety back into the activation zone.
Step 1: Inhale (4 seconds)
Breathe in through your nose, slowly and steadily. Count in your head: 1... 2... 3... 4. Try to breathe into your belly, not your chest. Place your hand on your stomach and feel it rise.
Step 2: Hold (4 seconds)
Hold your breath. Not by clenching everything tight. Just stop breathing. Calmly, without tension. Count: 1... 2... 3... 4.
Step 3: Exhale (4 seconds)
Breathe out through your mouth, slowly and controlled. Like you're blowing through a straw. Count: 1... 2... 3... 4. Focus on pushing all the air out.
Step 4: Hold (4 seconds)
Stay with empty lungs. Count: 1... 2... 3... 4. Then start again from Step 1.
Repeat for 4 cycles. The whole thing takes 64 seconds. Less than a minute and a half. And the effect is immediate.
Why does it work? The length of the exhale activates the vagus nerve, which is the main "brake pedal" of the nervous system. The four-second breath holds between phases also force your brain to focus on counting — breaking the loop of anxious thoughts. You're literally shifting your attention from "What if I choke?" to "1... 2... 3... 4."
Pro tip: Practice Box Breathing outside of game days too. Do it every evening before bed, 5 minutes. After two weeks, it'll become automatic and on game day it'll be your reliable emergency brake. Athletes who practice this technique regularly report a 30-40% reduction in pre-game anxiety.
Technique #2: Trigger Word
This one is simpler, but incredibly effective. It works on the principle of conditioned response — just like Pavlov's dog salivated at the sound of a bell, you train yourself to activate calm and focus with a single word.
How does it work?
Pick one word that evokes a state of calm and focus for you. It can be anything: "calm," "now," "go," "focus," "breathe." One word. Simple. Easy to remember.
How to train your trigger word
1. Choose your word. Let's say "calm."
2. Every day, sit quietly for 3 minutes. Close your eyes. Relax your muscles. Breathe deeply.
3. When you feel relaxed and focused, say your trigger word in your head. Repeat it 5 times slowly.
4. Do this daily for 2 weeks.
5. After 2 weeks, all you need to do is say your trigger word and your brain will automatically activate that relaxed, focused state. The conditioned response is built.
In practice, you use it like this: before every shooting drill, before every sprint, before every important moment, say your trigger word. This links it not just with calm, but with performance.
And on game day? You're standing in the locker room, anxiety is rising, hands are shaking — you say your trigger word. Your brain recognizes it, fires the trained response, and switches you into performance mode.
Real example: A hockey player we worked with chose the word "ice." Every time he stepped onto the ice, he'd say that word and automatically shift into focus mode. After a month of training, he said all it took was thinking the word and his anxiety dropped by half. It's not magic — it's neuroplasticity.
Important: A trigger word only works if you train it. You can't make one up in the locker room 5 minutes before the game and expect miracles. You need at least 10-14 days of regular practice. But once it's built, it's your secret weapon that nobody knows about — and it works every time.
What to do in the locker room 10 minutes before a game
Now you know two techniques. Let's put them into a practical routine you can do in the locker room.
Here's a concrete plan for the last 10 minutes:
Minutes 10-8: Disconnect
Put your phone away. Stop scrolling Instagram. Stop reading messages from family. Put on your headphones and play a playlist that pumps you up (or silence, if that works better for you). Goal: minimize outside distractions.
Minutes 8-6: Box Breathing
Do 4 cycles of Box Breathing (4-4-4-4). Close your eyes, place your hands on your thighs, focus only on counting. It takes 64 seconds. When you're done, notice how your heart rate has settled.
Minutes 6-4: Visualization
Close your eyes and picture the first 2 minutes of the game. Not the whole game — just the start. Imagine specific situations: your first touch on the ball, your first challenge, your first pass. Imagine yourself nailing them. In detail. What it feels like, how you feel, what it sounds like. Your brain can't tell the difference between a real and an imagined experience — so with visualization, you're essentially "pre-playing" the game.
Minutes 4-2: Physical activation
Get up. Stretch. Do a few dynamic exercises: lunges, jumps, torso rotations. Raise your heart rate. Your body needs to transition from rest to readiness. But in a controlled way — not in a panic.
Minutes 2-0: Trigger word + go
Say your trigger word. Look at your teammates. Remind yourself of one single goal for the first few minutes of the game (not for the whole game — just the start). And go.
This routine takes 10 minutes and gives you control. Instead of being tossed around by anxiety, you have a plan. And once you have a plan, your brain shifts from "threat" mode to "problem-solving" mode.
You don't have to follow it to the letter. Adapt it. Some people need more visualization, others need more physical activation. Experiment during practice and find your combination. But the structure matters — it signals to your brain that you know what you're doing.
When anxiety signals something bigger
Most pre-game anxiety is normal and manageable. But sometimes it's a sign that something deeper is going on.
Watch for these warning signs:
- Anxiety persists outside of sports. If you're anxious at school, at home, in relationships — it's not just game-day nerves. It's a general anxiety issue and you need professional help.
- You're avoiding games. If you start making excuses for why you can't play (injury, illness, "I'm busy"), that's a defense mechanism. Your brain is trying to avoid a situation it perceives as threatening.
- Panic attacks. If you feel like you can't breathe, your heart is pounding so hard you think you're having a heart attack, and you feel paralyzing fear — that's a panic attack. The techniques in this article can help as first aid, but you need to work with a sports psychologist.
- Anxiety is getting worse. If six months ago it was manageable and now it's worse and worse, something is escalating it. It could be pressure from a coach, parents, or your own perfectionism.
- Physical symptoms persist. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea before every game — that's not "just nerves." Your body is telling you that stress has exceeded the limit it can handle on its own.
There's no weakness in seeking help. Quite the opposite. Professional athletes have entire teams of people looking after their mental health — sports psychologists, mental coaches, therapists. If you have access to a sports psychologist through your club or school, use it.
And if you don't? Start by talking to someone you trust. A coach, a parent, a teammate. Simply saying "I'm struggling with anxiety" out loud has a huge effect. You stop hiding it and start dealing with it.
Bottom line: Pre-game anxiety is normal. It's a sign that you care about your performance. The two techniques you learned here — Box Breathing and the trigger word — give you the tools to tame it. But you need to practice them. Start today. Set a reminder on your phone: "Box Breathing 3 minutes" — every evening. In two weeks, you'll be ready for any game.
If you want to learn more about working with your mind in sports, check out our article on mental training for athletes or see how to handle the fear of transferring to a new club.
Tip: You'll find all the techniques for handling pressure in the e-book The Mental Edge: 25 Mental Techniques for Athletes.