Big Game Preparation — 7 Tips for Staying COOL and CALM in the Clutch

The BIGGEST secret to you playing your best when it counts the most is learning how to keep yourself CALM and COMPOSED. If you allow yourself to get too nervous or too excited right before or during a game, then your muscles will tighten up, you’ll lose your confidence and your play will go right down the tubes! This is what it means to CHOKE! The hockey player gets so nervous that they end up playing tight and tentatively — a mere shadow of his or her normal self! 

Runaway, pre-game nervousness can come from a lot of different sources: how good your opponents are; how big and aggressive they are; how important a game is; how big the crowd is (and who in it is watching you); whether you’ll play well today and win; how “excited” your coach may get; what shift you’ll play on; how much playing time you’ll get; the arena you’re playing in — the list goes on and on. 

While there are many things about a hockey game that can potentially make you nervous, the true cause of your game-disrupting nervousness isn’t any of the things that I’ve just mentioned above. The real cause of your out-of-control nerves is you! That’s right! YOU make YOURSELF nervous! 

What I’m saying here is very important — It’s not what’s happening around or outside of you that makes you nervous. It’s what’s happening INSIDE that is the real cause of stress!

Here’s what I mean: It’s not the size, skill level or reputation of your opponents that makes you nervous. It’s what you say to yourself about them in the days, hours and minutes leading up to the game that’s the real culprit in sending your heart rate and blood pressure through the roof! Nervousness is always caused by our inner response to the things that are going on outside of us. But here’s the good news about that: If YOU make yourself nervous, then YOU have the ability to change your inner response to calm yourself down under competitive pressure.  

Most players who get too nervous to play well do so because of what they focus on and think about as the game approaches. They worry about how well they’ll play, how fast and skilled their opponents are, whether their team will win or lose, what people may think or say about them, etc. Focusing on any or all of these things will guarantee that your stress level will go through the attic and your play will get stuck in the cellar! To stay calm under pressure, you must learn to go into your games with a completely different headset and focus. I’ve called this proper headset a CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PLAN.

A championship game plan is a series of little mental goals that you want to bring into the game with you. If you follow this game plan, it will guarantee that you’ll stay calm and relaxed when you play. Remember, playing your best hockey is all about being loose right before and during the game.    

#1. KEEP YOUR CONCENTRATION IN THE “NOW”

When players allow their focus of concentration to jump ahead to the future, or drift back to the past, the result is always an increase in their nervousness. If you want to stay cool and calm in the clutch, then you have to train yourself to keep your focus in the NOW — especially during your games! This means that leading up to the game, you don’t want to think about and focus on the upcoming game and its importance. If you want to play loose and relaxed, you must learn to keep your concentration in the now. When you’re on the ice, you want to focus on one present-moment play at a time.

#2. RECOGNIZE WHEN YOUR FOCUS “TIME TRAVELS” AND BRING YOURSELF BACK

It’s very easy to understand that you need to focus in the now, but much harder to consistently do it! The way that you stay in the now is by immediately becoming aware whenever your focus drifts back to the past or ahead to the future, then quickly return your concentration to the now. Losing your focus won’t make you nervous. What will make you nervous is losing your focus and not bringing it back right away! It’s the break in concentration that you don’t immediately catch that will drive your stress level through the roof and sabotage your play.

#3. KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON YOU, YOUR JOB AND YOUR PLAY

Allowing your focus to drift to anyone or anything other than you, (i.e. your opponents, who’s watching, who might be disappointed in you, how well your teammates may be playing, what the coach is thinking, etc.) will quickly make you feel nervous. Staying focused on you and your job will keep you calm and confident. This also means that whenever you play, you want to make sure that you DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS! Comparison will always make you too nervous to play well.

#4. HAVE FUN

Playing your best under pressure means that you have to be having fun. Fun is the secret ingredient to staying calm and playing your best when the heat of competition is turned up high. If you make a game too important, if you put too much pressure on yourself, if you get too serious, then you’ll start getting nervous and your game will do a major disappearing act. When fun goes, so too will all of your game skills. If you really want to play well, then you have to get into the game, enjoy the tournament, embrace the challenge from a tough opponent, have fun with your friends before, during and after the game! 

#5. LEAVE YOUR GOALS AT HOME

One of the biggest tension inducing mental mistakes that you can make as a hockey player is to take your goals with you onto the ice. For example, you think, “I want to get three points,” “score two goals,” “win the game,” “get a shut out,” or “prove to the coaches that I’m good.” Focusing on such goals will make you too nervous to play well and, ironically, cause you never to reach them. Instead, leave your goals at home and keep your focus in the game, on “this” play, one moment at a time, one shift at a time, one period at a time! 

#6. KEEP YOUR MIND DISTRACTED BEFORE AND AFTER GAMES

Thinking gets most athletes into trouble and makes them nervous. While you can’t really stop yourself from thinking, you can purposely distract yourself from it. So, in the days and minutes leading up to a big game or tournament, keep busy. Do not allow yourself a lot of free time to think. Focus on your homework, read a book, watch a movie, listen to music, get involved in non-hockey related conversations with friends and do things to keep yourself busy and distracted. “Changing the channel” in this way will help you stay calm and composed in the days and hours leading up to your games.

#7. KEEP YOUR FOCUS OF CONCENTRATION AWAY FROM THE “UNCONTROLLABLES”

There are a lot of things that happen in a tournament or a game that you do not have direct control over. Any time an athlete focuses on an “uncontrollable” (UC),  they will get really nervous, lose their confidence and play badly. So make a list of all of the things about this upcoming game that you can’t directly control (i.e. officiating; the crowd; coaching decisions, such as playing time and line you play on; the future, such as the outcome of the game, how well you play, how many points you get; or how you are feeling that day) and post the list in a highly visible place in your room. Keep in mind that these UCs are mental traps. They are lying in wait for you and every other player on the ice. The only way to avoid a trap is to know that it is there! If you find yourself thinking about or focusing on one of these UCs, quickly return your concentration to something in the now that you can control. 

Remember, if you really want to play well, you have to stay loose and relaxed. To do this, focus on executing this CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PLAN!

About The Author

An internationally known expert in the field of applied sports psychology, Dr. Goldberg works with athletes and teams across all sports at every level, from professional and Olympic calibre right down to junior competitors...CONTINUE.

16 Comments

  1. Abby says:

    Please help me I have a hockey game tomorrow but im nervous and stessed that I will let my team down. Any advice?

  2. milecards.com says:

    Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.

  3. a/c says:

    Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Spending some
    time and actual effort to make a great article…

  4. hydrofor says:

    That is really fascinating, You’re an excessively professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking extra of your excellent post. Additionally, I have shared your website in my social networks!

  5. Marcia says:

    I like the valuable information you supply on your articles.
    I will bookmark your blog and test once more right here regularly.
    I’m moderately certain I’ll learn lots of new stuff here!
    Good luck for the following!

  6. Brock Vangalder says:

    I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great.

  7. our-diwang says:

    Say, you got a nice blog post.Really thank you! Really Great.

  8. Gita Fougere says:

    I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this site. I’m hoping the same high-grade site post from you in the upcoming also.

  9. top rated juicers says:

    Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking
    and checking back often!

  10. anxiety and says:

    fantastic publish, very informative.

  11. espresso machines says:

    Your style is so unique compared to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this site.

  12. Russel says:

    WOW just what I was looking for.

  13. HoonleveInemo says:

    I discovered your weblog website on google and check a number of of your early posts… Looking forward to reading a lot more from you later on!

  14. hurtig lån says:

    I like the helpful information you provide in your articles.
    I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I’m quite sure I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!

  15. bapyNalaype says:

    great post, very informative. I wonder why the opposite experts of this sector do not understand this. You should continue your writing. I’m sure, you have a huge readers’ base already!
    Learn more

  16. Billy Martinez says:

    I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.

Reply to anxiety and Cancel Reply