The Athlete's Inner Game
You’re nervous right now. That’s okay.
Actually — that’s good. Here’s why.
The physiological state of nervousness and the physiological state of excitement are identical. Same heart rate increase, same adrenaline, same heightened alertness. The only difference is the story you tell about what it means.
Nervous says: something bad might happen. Excited says: something is about to happen. Same body. Different story.
Read this passage slowly.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Psalm 56:3–4 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
When I am afraid. Not if. When. The psalmist isn’t claiming to be beyond fear. He’s describing what he does when it arrives: puts his trust in something larger than the threat. And from that trust, the fear loses some of its grip.
The nervous energy you feel before competition is not a problem. It’s preparation energy. Your body is getting ready for something demanding. The adrenaline is sharpening your focus. The heart rate is delivering more blood to the muscles that are about to be asked to perform.
The question is what you do with it. Anxiety channels the energy inward — into worry, into self-monitoring, into running disaster scenarios. Performance channels it outward — into the competition, into the first play, into the physical and mental alertness that high-level performance requires.
The shift is a story shift. When you feel the nerves, tell yourself: this is excitement. This is my body getting ready. This energy is going into the game.
Trust the one who holds the outcome. Channel the energy outward. Let the nervousness become the thing that makes you sharper rather than the thing that makes you smaller.
Nervousness and excitement are the same energy. The story you tell about it is what determines where it goes.
Right now, in your body — is what you’re feeling nervousness or excitement? What would it look like to call it excitement and channel it into the first play?
In-the-moment question. Get them into the body and into the immediate competition. Quick answers only.
Channel it out. Let the nerves become the edge. Trust and go.
5–8 minutes maximum. This is the last thing before they compete. Land it and release them.