Gaining an Edge: Mental Preparation and Routine for Game Day Success

Welcome to the seventh edition of Gaining an Edge from Expand Your Game! This series empowers Socceristas to own their growth and maximize their potential by expanding mental performance skills, reframing limiting beliefs, and uncovering authentic drive.

In last week’s edition, we talked about how to maintain composure on the field, stay in your optimal performance zone, and not get distracted by negative self-talk or pre-game nerves. This week, we’re going to stay on that same train of thought and talk about how to set yourself up for this before games through mental preparation. We will also dive into why consistency in a pre-game routine is the best tool for dealing with the biggest, highest-pressure moments.

Preparedness breeds confidence

In sports, life, soccer, and pretty much everywhere, preparedness breeds confidence.

Now there are two types of preparedness: physical and mental. Most players are very familiar with the concept of physical preparation. It means doing the work. It means putting in the extra time. Fine-tune your first touch. Practice placing that ball into the corner of the net. Do it over and over and over again. Get in the reps every week.

Every extra touch you put on that ball, every spare minute you spend working on the small details of your game, will make you more prepared. The more physically ready you are for something, the more you will trust in your ability to perform. And the more confidence in soccer you will have. Why? You will know you can execute it because you’ve done it hundreds if not thousands of times.

Preparedness is where confidence growth begins. But there’s another type of preparedness beyond this. One that breeds confidence as well as helps you execute to the best of your abilities on game day: mental preparedness.

Prioritize time for mental preparation before matches

Physical preparation is key to growing confidence in soccer, but mental preparation is equally important. A good way to mentally prepare for soccer games is to develop a specific, personalized game-day routine that you can use before every performance to prepare yourself.

Create a routine that puts you into a headspace where you can be at ease and focused. For some soccer players, this is listening to music. For others, it is going on a walk, getting in an extra stretch session, or having a pre-game snack & hydration regimen. Your routine can be anything, but it should be unique to you – something that you like and feels right for you.

For this to work and help you grow your confidence in soccer, you need to do this repeatedly. Before every match, if you can. Once you do it enough, your body will start associating the routine with heading into a game. The regularity of the comforting, familiar activity will be what helps keep you composed, confident, and focused.

Here are examples of impactful habits some players use in their pre-game mental prep routine:

• going for a walk
• listening to music
• meditation or visualization
• watching game film
• getting a good night’s sleep
• setting game day objectives
• focusing on small pieces of your game that you can control
• watching professional games
• intentional breaks from social media
• stretching or foam rolling
• hydrating and eating well

Looking at this list reminds me of a common question: “What’s the best pre-game mental preparation tool for getting ready for a big game?”

My answer is NOT on this list. My answer is consistency.

CONSISTENCY is the most important piece

Whether you are playing a friendly, a scrimmage, or a league game, do the same mental prep pre-game routine every time you play. No matter how big or small the game, do the same thing. Consistently prepare in all the smaller moments because this is how the magic happens in the big moments.

The consistency of your pre-game routine during the not-as-important games is what makes a pre-game routine a very powerful tool when you get to the big games. Consistency is your secret weapon. Consistency is where your edge comes from.

How does this work? Well, if you have a specific pre-game mental prep routine before every game, the consistency of the routine becomes familiar and comforting to you over time. This helps you feel at ease. The familiarity of the routine helps calm pre-game nerves. When that big game comes up, and there are a lot of emotions firing, your familiar habits help you self-regulate and stay focused because when you do them, they signal to your brain that everything is okay. You’ve been here before, and this is a safe, familiar space. This is how you head out onto that field, mentally prepared for game-day success.

Consistency in the small moments is key to success in the big moments. So start working to establish a mental prep pre-game this week, and don’t look back. This one seemingly simple and small thing is the secret to showing up on that field day after day with your game face on. It’s the secret to stepping on that field levelheaded and composed, no matter how big the game or how high the expectations are.

Up next:

Follow Girls Soccer Network, so you don’t miss the next edition of Gaining an Edge. Next time we will talk about the inevitable low points of being an athlete (injury, setback, obstacle, complacency, etc.) Knowing that these moments show up for everyone and that there’s always a way forward can help players grow their resiliency skills and become more mentally tough, helping prepare themselves with the mindset they need to be elite athletes.

‘Til next time,

Jenn Ireland, Mental Skills Coach + Founder of Expand Your Game

Gaining an Edge is a 10-part series from Expand Your Game’s Mindset Mastery Academy, a transformative 1-on-1 mental skills mentorship experience for female soccer players.