Creating the Game Day Mindset

Jared Bradford - SISU
May 18, 2020
4 min read

When I was playing college rugby at Central Michigan University, we had this pre-game tradition of sorts (for a while). Game time was always 1pm, and we would start warm-ups at noon. So, around 11am, a group of us would gather at a specified location for a war-like pregame pump up.

This usually involved music...usually music with war drums and Uruk-Hai. You know, those beasts from Lord of the Rings.

We'd blast that music, pound water down our gullets, and lace up. It was war.

The game day mindset is personal. No one mindset is right. I've been around all sorts of different players that prepped or seemingly DIDN'T prep for the match every Saturday.

We had the loud, head-butting type, the quiet, reserved type, the "seemingly doesn't care" type, or the one who shows up late, slips boots on and grabs the wrong jersey number, type.

None are wrong, except that last one.

So, what's the point, here?

The point is - those who prepare, get in to THEIR zone quicker and with purpose, will perform better. Showing up on time, reviewing (in your mind) the little things YOU need to know for the game, and prepping your body for the test it is about to endure. These are fundamental, whether you do them quietly or loudly is up to you - and either one should be tolerated as long as it is done with effort and purpose.

Story Time

My favorite story with regards to the game day mindset was a player I coached at CMU. He began on the B side his first year, but he was always heard from the sideline. He was there yelling every game:

"LET'S GO! HIT EM IN THE GUT! THEY DON'T WANT IT!"

He was our hype man. He soon became our rock at prop, and one of the most athletic and shifty positional forwards I've ever coached. The point is - he talked the talk, and he walked the walk. Soon, he walked the walk so well, he let it do the talking for him. He was in his zone, even on the sideline. His game day mindset was always in full swing and it came through as a bench player or a starter. Be that teammate.

Creating Your Game Day Mindset

I use to lay up at night and think about myself playing the game of rugby. I would think of the moves I would pull on the field, the tackles I would make, the small things I would do to make myself and the team successful. It fueled me with excitement and momentum going in to practices and games.

Sometimes, however, when the game began - that excitement would get replaced with anxiety. This wasn't acceptable.

By the end of my college playing days, I was able to target the source of that anxiety and nip it in the butt. Though, it cost me a lot of progress, opportunity, and playing time to be sure. Physical fitness will carry your body through the tests of rugby. It is a physical game. But it must be obvious that the mental side of the game - the mindset - will decide how fluently or how costly it is to get you where you need to be, which is successful.

I'm not a sports psychologist - but I am an athlete who dealt with game day anxiety and was able to overcome it while playing Division I rugby.

So here are a few ideas and tips I gathered myself that may help you harness, create, and sustain your game day mindset so you can consistently dominate the field:

Breathe - breath work was what saved my final year. I become disciplined and did it multiple times per week. It's just as important as physical fitness and training, in my opinion. Through deep breathing, you can recenter your nervous system, bring an abundance of oxygen to your body, and allow thoughts/anxiety to flow instead of stick. It was effective the morning of games, for me, especially.
Envision - like I said above, I would lay up and night and envision myself being successful on the field. This would abandon me pregame and get replaced with thoughts of another concussion. To combat this, it was simple - I recognized that fear for what it was - a fear. I replaced the simple thought of a fear with the simple thought of a triumph. It wasn't a concussion, it was a form tackle.
Prep for your Weaknesses - my weakness was tackling. The first tackle I ever made in a rugby game in high school, I broke my nose and got a concussion. It was a hell of thing. I'm 28 now, but still have that memory - and a few more memories of hits to the head in college. It was something I was concerned about, as all of them came of tackles or being tackled. So, before each game, I went aside with a teammate and practiced hitting. Form tackling. I prepped my body for contact and I made sure it was correct. I was the captain of the team at this time. You're never too high up to hone in on your weaknesses, your team may depend on you overcoming them.
Be Yourself - be loud. Be silent. Be goofy. Be serious. Let your flag fly, no matter what it is, and let it fly high. The more you can get in to yourself and tune in to how you perform your best, the better you will be for your team. I've played with quiet killers, and screaming bandits. Both were excellent teammates and performers on the field. That's all that matters.