Why do we feel nervous?  The physical signs are all about the hormone adrenaline, which you probably have heard of, and we need to look a bit closer at adrenaline to understand what is going on. Adrenaline has been a part of mankind’s physiology since we first evolved as humans. In those prehistoric days, if you stumbled across a sabre toothed tiger, adrenaline was pumped into your body to prepare it for a “fight or flight” situation. You either had to fight the tiger, or run! So what does adrenaline do and how does it affect the body? There are loads of different ways, but basically it prepares your body for action by bumping up your heart rate,  increasing the amount of blood pumped round your body in a given time, and diverts blood from places like the gut to the muscles, so they can work more effectively.  

In lots of ways, before a game of football, having some adrenaline in your system is a good thing, as it will help your body to perform to the best of its ability. So instead of thinking, “oh no, I feel so nervous”, think “great I feel a bit nervous, so that is going to help me perform”. Use this “nervous energy” to improve your physical performance. Don’t worry about feeling nervous before a big game. Its natural and not something to be feared.  

There is a scenario that is not so good though. If you get really seriously nervous before a big match, instead of enhancing your performance, it can sometimes cause a player to “freeze”, and to be so full of nerves that they end up playing badly. This is usually most obvious and noticeable in an individual sport. It can happen to the best. There are lots of examples of Wimbledon finalists who come out to play the biggest match of their lives on Centre Court, and just play badly because they are so nervous they can hardly hit the ball.  

It can affect a team performance as well, and the history of sport is littered with examples of teams who as a collective were overcome with nerves and played poorly as a result. Experience certainly helps to overcome this negative aspect of nerves. Experiential learning is the most powerful of all. Experiencing nerves before a big game for the first time can be daunting. When you have experienced them over a period of time, on several different occasions, they can be used positively and no longer need effect your performance negatively. 

So when you are trying to impress at a game, embrace the nervous tension you feel and use the adrenaline that is coursing round your body to improve your performance, not detract form it.