Throughout the last couple of decades, some athletes have developed a sports anxiety mindset while participating in the sport they have been playing throughout their lives. Some players even quit and lose love for the game for this reason as it causes too much pressure.
Most athletes have a way to deal with nerves before a game, so nothing will distract them from doing well.
“Mental health has impacted the way I play sports with lots of stress and nerves,” said senior soccer player Olivia Tabbert. “What I do before every game is listen to music to calm myself down and make sure to eat a little snack.”
Another way athletes shake off nerves is by listening to their favorite music before big games. It’s also scientifically proven by Cailen Y. Andrews from the University of Wisconsin that listening to music helps stress and overall performance in sports.
“Before games, I would listen to Drake, Zach Bryan, Travis Scott, and Noah Kahan to help with pregame nerves,” said senior volleyball player Macie Ahmer. “I listen to music that makes me happy and will try and put me in a good head space.”
Sports mental health plays a big factor right before big games, but once athletes are finally playing, most of the anxiety disappears due to players not being able to think too much about how they are going to perform while playing.
“I usually have a mixture of nerves and excitement,” Tabbert said. “Right before the game starts, I am full of nerves, but once I step on the field, they all go away and I get excited to play.” If an athlete is an incoming freshman or new to a sport, it leaves a question of how an athlete will contribute to the team. This can leave an athlete stressed about what’s ahead and can create sports anxiety over time.
“In the summer, I had a lot of pre-practice anxiety due to being at the bottom of the barrel as a freshman,” said freshman football player Beckett Dovel. “But as soon as I climbed the ladder and started, I was fully confident in myself during games.”
A good strategy varsity athletes use is to watch the games before, as it motivates and helps players get into the zone as the varsity game starts after the JV games.
“Before games, I like watching JV games because I like watching football, and it gives me the ability to think and envision what I want to do during the game,” Dovel said.
Coping with the stress that a sport brings is not easy; however, students are able to find ways to work around it and thrive in their sport.
