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How do you deal with anxiety on the pitch?

This is the story,
back in the day I played soccer and I was pretty deam good. I was not afraid of anyone that I played against and I had fun. Times change and I got into High School and started to hang out with the wrong crowd. Picked up weed, ciggs and liquor. I stopped playing and descended into a dark place. Five years after I picked up my first smoke I quit and its been 6 months sense I smoked. I have started to run and I am in decent shape. Now here is the problem. Tomorrow is the first day of soccer training camp. A few days ago we had a meet, played for fun, meet the coaches etc. The thing is that as soon as I got on the pitch, even the night before the meet, I felt anxious. When I went on the pitch I was even more anxious. I was afraid of the ball and the other players. How do I deal with this? I want to get back to my old self where I can enjoy the game again and not be afraid of anything. Please help any advice would be appriciated. Sorry for the long entry!

Public Comments

1. look upwards and close ur eyes concenrate.u will

2. What I usually do is the night before I play music, wether to calm me down or get pumped, and all the way untill my game. I just try to relax and calm down. Try not to think about the pressure you have on you. Just go out, do your best and have fun. If you have any before game rituals always do those. A superstition my team has is that we tape our right wrist for luck. always practice at least 30 minutes a day, so then you will b good enough that you dont have to worry. Good job on picking your life up, i understand what u went thru so even if u dont make it on the team u can b proud of urself. But most importantly stay confident.

3. Congratulations on going back to the football pitch and the new healthy lifestile. As for your anxiety the night before the game, u can overcome that by not thinkin about it., do something else apart from football, i do that the night before my grades come out, hang out and think of other stuff. if u fail to get the tension out of ur head, here's another tip, players like david beckham use it, get some of ur old videos, back when u were good, watch the goals u scored, this'll give u confidence in ur self and help put ur worries aside.
As for before the game, we all get butterflies in our stomachs then, it helps to talk about it with a close friend or teammate, they'll encourage u, and try eating chewing gum before goin into the pitch, it helps get the tension out. Good luck in ur camp, i hope my tips helped.

4. chew gum. and take a deep breath through your nose and let it out slowly through ur mouth. then in your mind or under ur breath say "let's do this"