Game-Day Rituals: What Top Performers Do Before the Whistle Blows
Go behind the scenes to explore the high-stakes routines that separate the best from the rest before competition begins. This guide breaks down the essential physical and psychological pre-game rituals you can adopt to sharpen your focus and elevate your own game.
The best performers don’t always rely on luck. A lot of skill and training are put into the performance. That could be anything from a final of a sports tournament, a high-stakes business deal, or even a major public appearance. Whatever they do on the run-up to game day, they ensure they do nearly everything right. This includes their game-day rituals, and this helps athletes and high achievers enter the right physical and mental state to compete at the highest level. Let’s take a look at some of those rituals before their big performance.
Mental Visualisation
Something that many top-performers will do is visualise the performance. They'll imagine what will happen in their head before the pressure is on and capitalise on the key moments. Conor McGregor is a great example of this, where he imagined exactly how he was going to knock out Jose Aldo in their championship bout.
Creating Control Through Routine
Routine is something that has to be mastered if you wish to be at the top level. Most people will listen to the same music or complete the same warm-up sequence. It’s these sorts of behaviours that will get them in the mood for their big moment and help them lock in. It can also be anything from tying your shoes a certain way, your morning routine for getting ready or even the underwear you wear. All of this can create the perfect readiness to help focus your mind or event.
Controlling Energy and Focus
Something that can affect your performance is too much adrenaline. This is where you need to be calm and focused on the task at hand because this adrenaline can burn you out. The best athletes and top-performers will have breathing exercises and mindfulness exercises to help keep their minds on track. Not just that, but some people will have more modern approaches to their pre-match rituals, such as taking Pablo nicopods which slowly release nicotine into the body. Nicotine has been shown to help top performers focus more, similar to taking ashwagandha supplements.
Physical Readiness
The pre-match ritual tends to be more than just the typical warm-up. It is there to get the nervous system rolling. Including any dynamic movements, activation drills, and short reaction-based exercises all help sharpen your coordination, speed and alertness. This is beneficial because it ensures your body is tight before a big game. A relaxed body is essential for top performers because it means they will be using less energy.
Throw Away The Distractions
Something else that is very important is throwing away those distractions. This tends to be people’s mobile phones, so these will either get locked away in a bag or a locker. Social media can be very distracting before your big performance, so ensure you are removing those distractions from your life, no matter what they are.
The Importance of Preparation
Game-day rituals are essential for the best performers, and it is one of the reasons why so many people have one. They create a pathway by combining physical preparation, focus tools, mental rehearsal and structured routines before their big game.