Why do I get nervous before a game?

What’s happening in your body

Here’s the short version: your brain sees a game as a test that counts, so it switches on your stress response. A 2017 review in the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine describes sport anxiety as a typical response to a situation where your skills are being evaluated. It shows up in the body (sweating, a faster heart), in behavior (fidgeting, biting nails) and in your head (worry, trouble focusing).

Hormones are part of it too. A 2017 meta-analysis of 25 studies in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found that cortisol, a stress hormone, rises before real competition, and the rise was bigger closer to the start. The authors describe that bump as part of how the body gets ready for the demands of the game. If you want a routine that works with this, start with our pregame mental routine.

Is it good to be nervous before a game?

Often, yes. But here’s the honest part: not always. The same review says researchers agree on three things. Anxiety affects performance. That effect can be positive or negative, depending on the person and the moment. And which way it goes depends on how you think about it, what you do with it and how your body responds.

One older theory, the inverted U, says a little arousal helps until it tips into too much. Another idea, the individual zone, says every athlete has their own best level. Some players need to feel revved up. Others play best a little quieter. Your job isn’t to get to zero. It’s to learn where your best zone is and how to get back to it. Hockey star Sidney Crosby put it simply, as quoted in that review: “I don’t think you’re human if you don’t get nervous.”

If the nerves feel bigger than butterflies, read our guide to sports performance anxiety.

Why some games make you more nervous

You might feel fine before a Tuesday scrimmage and sick before a Saturday final. The review lists a few things that push anxiety up: how intense the moment is, your personality, the stress you’re already carrying and the coping tools you have. In real life, that looks like this.

If you play great in practice and tight in games, that’s the same story. More feels at stake. See why do I play better in practice than games.

What to do with the nerves in the last hour

Trying to force yourself calm usually backfires. Give the energy a job instead. The review names the tools athletes use most: goal setting, imagery, relaxation, self-talk and social support. Here’s how they fit into the hour before a game.

1. 01

   Name it out loud

   Say “I’m nervous because this matters.” Naming the feeling turns it from a threat into information.

2. 02

   Breathe long on the way out

   Slow breath in, short pause, longer breath out. Three rounds before warm-ups and once more at the line, the tee or the bench.

3. 03

   Pick your first job

   One action for the first two minutes: “win the first ball,” “first serve deep,” “sprint back on D.” A job beats a feeling.

4. 04

   See one good rep

   Close your eyes for 30 seconds and picture your first touch going right. Then picture a mistake and your reset. See visualization for athletes.

5. 05

   Choose your words

   Pick a short cue like “next play” or “feet first.” Our self-talk guide helps you find one that fits.

For more, read how to not be nervous before a game. Tryouts coming up? Use how to prepare for tryouts.

When nerves are more than nerves

Most pregame nerves fade once the first whistle blows. The review notes that anxiety is a normal emotion, but if it’s left alone it can grow into something bigger. If worry about sport hangs around for days, wrecks sleep or school, causes panic, or makes you want to quit, talk to a parent, coach or doctor, or a licensed mental health professional. In a crisis in the US, call or text 988.

Nerves don’t go away by wishing. They get easier when the reset is trained. That’s what reset is for: two minutes a day, three steps. Notice. Name. Return. Try a 2-minute reset, or join the waitlist.