Games are a strong social advantage, let it be sports or other indoor games. On the whole aspect, most of the time it is not about losing or winning, the reason for being an active participant of sports, because the winner and loser both enjoy it at the end, games are the major nudge to your body and they are a teacher to your spirit of valiance and longanimity.
Games not only require you to be physically prepared but also to be mentally ready. As the proverb “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail” sums up the importance of being prepared before you launch yourself in the game. You are captain of the team at the international game or only competing for the 5km run race in your school; you don’t prepare the right way, you are handling your opponent an epic asset.
Physical Preparation:
- Nutrition:
- One of the most important thing before the game, let it be a day before or a week, is eating right to make your mind and body into shape. To Get the right nutrition and to stay hydrated throughout the pregame days will give your body a chance to be thankful to you on the game day. You will be active for a long period on the playing field.
- Stick to healthy food like fruits and veggies even if you crave for French fries. Take 3 meals a day, go for short healthy snacks like salad, juices, and fruit shakes to satisfy your inter-meal hunger.
- Meals high in carbs and lean in protein.
- A good game day meal could include pasta, potatoes, beans, nuts, rice, bread, and fruits.
- Sleep:
- An important part of your pregame routine. Make sure you are a healthy sleeper. Sufficient sleep is important for athletic performances. A good routine and adequate sleep - make it your top priority. As far as the level of professional training, apart from exercises, monitoring and management of sleep hold parallel importance.
- In case if you are a leader, getting extra sleep is important. You might have anxiety related wakefulness in the middle of the night just before the day of the game, banking some extra sleep will compensate its loss. Remind yourself you had more than enough sleep a day before in case you panic about your disturbed sleep.
- The day of the game arrives and you didn’t have with your sleep schedule in the past couple of days, planning a 20-minute nap before two hours of hitting the field will suffice you throughout the game.
- Exercise:
- Practicing the skills of the game seems pretty obvious, but it is essential to maintain your level of confidence throughout your performance and to mentally prepare you for any mistakes you are about to make.
- The recommended amount of time is 5-6 times per week.
- Regular exercises other than game skills should be daily practiced in order to burn excess calories, keep your body fit and under your mental control.
MENTAL PREPARATION:
To avoid pre-game stress, you need to make a routine that will help you cope up with your anxiety.
- Perform a ritual as per your ethnicity.
- Avoid superstitious thoughts.
- Pre-gaming adrenaline rush- the fight and flight hormone in your body that is elevated before a major event is the peak time you need to satisfy yourself and prepare yourself mentally to play at your best.
- Make yourself away from any negativity whether from inside, your braining tell you “you can’t do this” or from outside (pressure from a team leader or expectations on behalf of your team). They prove to be major obstacles to your best performance. In short, avoid overthinking. You get what you give. Boosting your teammates helps you avoid these thoughts and spread optimism in return gaining confidence.
- Think about previous good performances or moments you made your team proud or any of your best shot.
- Prepare yourself for making mistakes too and thinking how to cope up with negative results during the game. Simple phrases in your mind “It is okay,” “I’ll still play best next time” or “it is not yet over” will help you to gain from your mistake parallel to maintaining your confidence.
