Nerves are normal…seriously! They actually help you perform at your best. They are a needed part of the performance formula.

But sometimes the nerves get out of control. And in those moments, it can take over resulting in frustration, disappointment, and a lack of knowing what to do.   

Why Pre-Game Nerves Happen (And Why That’s Okay)

Your body doesn’t know the difference between excitement and anxiety. The racing heart, the tight stomach, the restless energy, that’s your nervous system getting you READY to compete. The athletes who perform best under pressure aren’t the ones with zero nerves. They’re the ones who know what to do with them.The goal isn’t to eliminate nerves before a game. The goal is to get them working for you.

How to Calm Nerves Before a Game: 7 Strategies That Actually Work

1. Control Your Breathing First

Yes, seriously. When anxiety spikes, your breathing gets shallow and fast. That feeds the panic loop. Break it.

Breathe in your nose. Slow your breath down (on both the inhale and exhale!) and take a deep breath. This directly activates your parasympathetic nervous system and physically lowers your heart rate. It’s not a mental trick. It’s science!

2. Get Your Head Where Your Feet Are

Overthinking is the enemy of performance. When you’re spiraling with “what if’s,” your brain is working against you.

The fix: bring your attention back to physical sensations. Feel your feet on the ground. Notice the weight of your equipment. Choose a color and find it throughout your environment. Take one slow, deliberate breath. Sensory anchoring pulls you out of anxious thought loops and back into the present moment…which is the only place you can compete.

3. Use a Pre-Game Routine

Rituals are powerful. Not because they’re superstition, but because they create a psychological signal that it’s time to perform. Your pre-game routine is a bridge between anxious energy and focused readiness.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. A consistent warm-up, a specific playlist, a phrase you repeat to yourself, whatever actions reliably puts you in your best mental state. The key word is consistent. Do it the same way every time.

4. Reframe the Nerves as Readiness

This is a research-backed technique called “anxiety reappraisal,” and it’s one of the most effective pre-competition mental skills there is.

Instead of telling yourself calm down, tell yourself: “I’m ready. My body is fired up because this matters.” The physical symptoms don’t change, but the meaning you assign to them does. Studies out of Harvard and the University of Rochester both show this shift measurably improves performance under pressure.

You don’t fight the feeling. You redirect it.

5. Focus on What You Can Control

Pre-game nerves often come from fixating on outcomes: Will I play well? What if we lose? What will people think?

None of that is in your control. Your effort is. Your preparation is. Your next play is.

Make a short mental list of the two or three things you’re going to focus on executing. Specific, process-based things you control. This narrows your attention and gives your brain something useful to do instead of playing the “what if” game.

6. Identify your Knowns

Anxiety is fear of the unknown. We will never be able to know how a competition will end before it starts…BUT there are so many things you DO know heading into it. 

Rather than focusing on all the unknowns of what will happen, shift your focus onto the things you do know. Things like your training, your preparation, skills you’ve improved, etc… Other great knowns: Does your team go through the same warmup? Do you generally sit with the same teammate on the bus? Have you competed there before? Do you have all your preferred performance snacks ready and packed? 

We can’t predict the future, but that doesn’t take away everything we do know heading into it. 

7. Visualize a Successful Start

Not the whole game. Just the first play, the first lap, the first serve, whatever gets you into the flow.

Close your eyes, slow your breath, and walk yourself through making a successful play in clear sensory detail. See it, feel it, hear it. Visualization primes your nervous system to execute what you’ve rehearsed mentally. It’s a form of deliberate practice that you can do anywhere, including the locker room five minutes before tip-off.

What to Do When Nerves Feel Unmanageable

If anxiety before games is consistently affecting your performance (or your enjoyment) of the sport, that’s worth taking seriously. Talking to a sport psychologist isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s the same logic as working with a strength coach: you get targeted help for a specific area of performance.

The most decorated athletes in the world have coaches for their mental game. You can too.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to get rid of your nerves to play your best. You need to learn how to work with them. Breathe, anchor yourself in the present, follow your routine, reframe the feeling, and focus on your process.

The nerves mean you care. Now channel them.

About the Author
Megan Cannon, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of MVP Mindset Sport & Performance Psychology. She specializes in sport and performance psychology, helping athletes, coaches, and parents build mental skills for confidence, performance under pressure, and navigating challenges like anxiety, setbacks, and injury recovery.

Her work integrates clinical expertise with applied sport experience, providing research-backed strategies athletes can use in real competition.

Learn more at mvpmindsetsportpsychology.com