“The key to winning is poise under stress” – Paul Brown

Without exception every single athlete out there experiences, what is sometimes referred to in football psychology as, “pre-game jitters”. It is that feeling of something going on in the pit of an athlete’s very core. The unfortunate matter of the fact is that athletes predisposed to a negative football mind tend to interpret this feeling as there being something wrong. This weaker state of thinking is actually something that is far more common than the stronger state of football mental toughness.

A certain amount of the pre-game jitters (stress) is not only necessary but also beneficial. As the mind is aware of the physical challenge that is imminent (competition) it releases the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine into the body as a response. The purpose of these hormones is to prepare and ready the body for what needs to be done. Such purpose is the breakdown of an athlete’s energy reserves into glucose, the body’s preferred and optimum source of energy.

Therefore, a prolonged state of stress will actually have the opposite effect of readying the body, as these hormones will continue to drain the body’s energy reserves, potentially until they are depleted or until the stress in under control. There is also a positive correlation between the prolonged release of epinephrine and the arousal of negative feelings (fear and anxiety).

A negative football mental mindset can draw out the release of these hormones instead of having the intended and desired effect of getting the body primed to compete. This can also impact an athlete’s overall football mental toughness by attacking their football confidence.

In mental game coaching sessions, athletes can be taught to identify their mental weaknesses and better manage their responses in various ways. For younger athletes, this can take more time as they will also need more competition to become aware and then get used to what they are thinking and feeling.

The determining factor to whether an athlete’s pre game jitters are harmful will be determined by how they interpret the feelings and negative thoughts produced by the body’s normal priming process before a game. To determine the type of jitters an athlete has, look to see how quickly the negative feelings and thoughts go away before being replaced with feelings of being psyched and confident.

Harmful jitters cause athletes to feel tight or frozen in competition, often becoming unable to think straight and lacking trust, which renders them unable to perform. Other signs that jitters have been brought into the game could be the onset of performance anxiety, such as fear of embarrassment, feeling worried and being scared.

A few of the coping strategies athletes can use include:

1. Adopting a poised, focused and confident pre game routine or ritual (this is the most effective strategy).
2. Understanding and using pre game jitters as a sign of readiness to perform to their best.
3. Using pre game jitters to get them in the zone, as a cause of focus and getting them excited about competing.
4. Understanding that the initial feeling is not out of fear or anxiety.
5. Focusing on serving the team instead of themselves.

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