Picture of the 2024 Rangers Girls Soccer team before one of their games.

With many fall high school sports seasons ending, teams have begun to enter the playoffs. Playoff games cause immense pressure and stress. Not knowing if this could be your last game of the season adds unnecessary anxiety to pregame routines. As two fall sport athletes, our favorite tips and tricks are listed below!

1. A critical tip for being prepared for an upcoming game is making sure you prioritize your sleep schedule. A decrease in sleep can make athletes lack energy, and feel extremely exhausted before, during, and after playing in a game. Getting at least nine hours of sleep the night prior to a game can benefit you not only mentally, but physically too. A full night’s rest and even a nap before a big game can help improve accuracy, endurance, and reaction time. On another note, sleep also reduces the risk of injury by repairing the body’s tissue while you rest!
2. Having a good diet and food the night before and the day of the big game is important to keeping a healthy mindset. If you are not filling your body enough, it can cause you to be hungry and lose energy fast. Filling your body too much can affect gameplay as playing on a full stomach can cause pain and discomfort. Yet, at the same time eating unhealthy foods is almost as detrimental as eating too much or not enough. Unhealthy eating before games can cause both pain and loss of energy. Foods with lots of protein and carbohydrates will help you feel your best before game time. Be sure to stock up on good foods and drinks before you begin to play.
3. Having a pregame ritual or routine can help settle your mind before game time. Knowing there is a set of tasks to complete relaxes your brain and makes it calmer overall. Taking it one step at a time before the game can help you feel more accomplished. Having a sense of certainty before the game can help get rid of some of the uncertainty that comes with playoffs. Make sure your routine is attainable, timely, and specific, following the rules of SMART Goals; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable, and Timely.
4. Stretching your body is another very important aspect of how to prepare for a big game. Stretching will help your body to become more flexible and helps to relax and loosen your muscles all throughout your body, which enhances any and all techniques while you play. It is very common to feel a lot of stress and anxiety before an important playoff game, making it tremendously critical to prioritize and take enough time to stretch all body parts that may be tight or stiff before you play!
5. Visualization is an extremely critical tip to use for all athletes before a big game. Visualizing helps to create realistic images and goals that produce positive emotions to help boost confidence. A trick for visualizing can be writing down or drawing certain plays or any specific goals that you have set for yourself for that specific game. It can also help to boost your emotional resilience and improve your focus while you compete.

Here at Westborough High School, our very own girls’ soccer and volleyball teams have paved their way through playoffs. Girls’ soccer plays their Final Four match on Tuesday 11/19, at 7 pm, located at Mansfield Turf. Girls’ volleyball plays the D2 State Championship match on Saturday 11/16, at 11 am, located at Billerica High School. Be sure to check out both of these big games and show your support!