Inside Bethany Balcer’s Game-Day Routine

August 4, 2021
By Bethany Balcer

For Socceristas, prepping for a game is an important ritual. What you do in the hours leading up to a game can set the tone for your entire performance. Whether you superstitiously follow the same routine before every game or switch it up depending on how you’re feeling that day, there are likely certain things you do to make sure you’re at the top of your game come kick-off. To get an inside look at what this process is like for professional players, we asked OL Reign’s Bethany Balcer to share her game-day routine. Here’s what she said:

Every morning I wake up and have a cup of coffee. It gets my day going and gives me a little extra wake-up call. I will then eat breakfast which consists of avocado toast with egg, tomato, and feta.

Sometime during the day, I have to go and get a second coffee, particularly an iced americano with oat milk. It’s my favorite drink and something I have to have every game day.

I will usually go on a walk so that I’m not stuck inside all day and to wake my legs up. I don’t want to do too much on game days so that I’m tired by the time kick-off rolls around.

For my pre-game meal, I will usually have a wrap or make pancakes.

With every home game day comes the need to show up in a fire outfit. So part of the day includes planning what I’m going to wear. Our team always shows up looking fly, so I have to match the energy!

I usually facetime my sister on game days just to chat with her about life and remind her that I have a game that day cause she usually forgets!

Once it’s time to leave for the game, I figure out what mood I’m in so I can prepare the playlist for the car ride over [Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and Maroon 5 are favorites]. I don’t listen to the same thing every time; I just figure out what the vibe is and go from there.

Once I get to the field…it’s game time!