How to Self-Regulate Extreme Emotions During a Game

Sometimes during soccer games, undesirable things happen. A ref made a call we don’t agree with. There’s a player on the other team who’s getting on our nerves. We miss a good opportunity in front of the net. Whatever it is, we sometimes end up replaying the moment over and over again in our heads and getting ourselves all worked up.

In these situations, the surge of emotions or detrimental thoughts has the power to completely overtake us and take our heads right out of the game. We can lose ourselves in the negative mindset, leaving everything else out of sight–which isn’t good when we are in the middle of a soccer game. So, here we discuss how to self-regulate extreme emotions during a game.

Control What You Can

One of the markers of a great soccer player is that you can perform on the field under pressure and in any circumstances–even when the elements are out of your control.

Learning to control what you can control and not getting hung up on the stuff you can’t is a game-changing skill that can help any soccerista completely level up their game.

Most players don’t realize that the ability to perform under pressure IS A SKILL–something that can be learned and improved.

If you struggle to control your emotions and thoughts during a game, know that it doesn’t have to be like that forever. It’s just a bad habit that you picked up somewhere, but you can unlearn it and progress past it.

Learn to Self-regulate

Many things can help your self-regulation skills grow and expand. For example, developing a meditation practice for soccer can help you stay focused on the game and keep your mind from drifting away and getting stuck on unhelpful things.

Visualization can also be useful by practicing putting yourself into high-pressure or trigger situations and then visualizing and essentially pre-planning how you will react and work through the situation successfully.

In terms of self-regulating during a game, though, the number one thing you can do is be very intentional with what you choose to focus on and use self-talk to keep you tuned in.

Self-talk is what goes through your head, what you are saying to yourself and thinking about while you are out there on the field.

Focus on Things That Are Useful and Constructive

Developing a habit of positive and instructional self-talk is another way to self-regulate overwhelming emotions and detrimental thinking patterns that threaten to overtake your game. You can consciously choose to make the negative thoughts and emotions temporary.

When you feel them start to come up and threaten to steal your focus, you have the power to end them and instead intentionally choose self-talk that is good, useful, and constructive.

Positive self-talk is when you talk to yourself and give yourself messages that are kind, encouraging, and directly related to the moment. It’s the self-talk that is supportive, boosts confidence, and helps you regain composure if your focus has slipped.

A simple example of a positive self-talk message you can use on repeat is, “I’ve got this. I can handle this. I am prepared.”

Instructional self-talk is giving yourself instructions about what you can be doing RIGHT NOW to positively impact the game: what runs should I be making? How can I give a better angle to my teammate with the ball? Where is their space to exploit?

For example, if you find yourself missing easy goals in front of the net because you get overly excited or panicked, instructional self-talk can help you keep your composure and put the ball in the back of the net.

These types of self-talk are good, useful, and constructive on the soccer field and help you stay focused on the game.

When you hone in on this internal messaging–something within your control–you have a stronger ability to self-regulate your thoughts and emotions. As a result, you no longer get swept away by detrimental thoughts and perform better in high-pressure situations.

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