How to handle pre-start nerves: techniques and advice.
Nerves before a start are familiar to every athlete — from a schoolchild at a district meet to an Olympic champion. They show up differently in each of us: one person's hands shake, another feels sick, a third becomes unusually irritable. And while mild nerves can spur you toward a better result, excessive tension often stops you realising your potential.
- How do you learn to handle these sensations?
- How do you keep a clear head and control of your body in the moments that matter most?
- And what role does a sport psychologist play in that?
Let's work through it.
- How do nerves affect results?
- What does a sport psychologist do?
- Techniques for getting ready before a start
Why do pre-start nerves arise?
Pre-start nerves are the body's natural response to a stressful situation. As you wait to compete, the sympathetic nervous system activates: the pulse quickens, breathing becomes shallow, muscles tighten. It is part of the fight-or-flight response.
The reasons for the nerves can vary:
- Responsibility — the fear of letting down your coach, your team, your family.
- Self-doubt — doubts about your own ability, memories of past failures.
- Over-motivation — wanting to win too much.
- The importance of the event — the bigger the competition, the greater the stress.
"The well-known Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko admitted that before his Olympic start his legs were literally giving way under him. He worked with a psychologist to learn to turn the nerves into energy."
How do nerves affect results?
When arousal is too high, physical and cognitive functions deteriorate:
- Precision of movement drops
- Coordination suffers
- Decision-making becomes harder
- Tunnel attention sets in
- Fatigue arrives early
The result is mistakes, a broken plan and falling confidence. Sometimes an athlete starts avoiding competitions altogether, just to avoid that painful state.
The sport psychologist: an ally against the nerves
Working with a sport psychologist helps an athlete understand their emotions better and learn to manage them. This is not just heart-to-heart conversation — it is systematic, evidence-based work.
Choose a sport psychology specialist on the SPORTS TALK platform.
What does a sport psychologist do?
- Assesses the level of anxiety and identifies the triggers.
- Teaches relaxation and self-regulation techniques.
- Helps change thinking from destructive to constructive.
- Develops preparation rituals and psychological anchors.
- Accompanies the athlete through the season, tracking progress.
The tennis player Naomi Osaka has said in interviews that working with a psychologist helped her regain control of her emotions after a run of setbacks and serious psychological crises. She learned to set mental boundaries and to talk openly about how she felt.
Techniques for getting ready before a start
There are proven methods that let an athlete lower their nerves and tune up for maximum performance. Here are the most effective of them.
1. Visualization (mental rehearsal)
Picturing the performance ahead in the finest detail: the arena, the sounds, the movements, the sensations. The brain takes this as real experience, laying down well-trodden neural pathways.
Benefits:
- Confidence is strengthened
- Fear of the unknown is reduced
- Precision and automaticity of movement improve
Before every race, the swimmer Michael Phelps would run the whole route from start to finish through his head, including the possible difficulties and his responses to them.
2. Controlled breathing (4-7-8 breathing)
A technique from the toolkit of sport psychophysiology:
- In through the nose for a count of 4
- Hold for 7
- A slow exhale through the mouth for a count of 8
The effect:
- Heart rate falls
- Muscle tension decreases
- Control of the body returns
3. Affirmations and setting yourself up for success
Repeating positive statements aimed at supporting your confidence:
- "I'm ready, I've done everything I could"
- "I'm in charge of myself, not the circumstances"
- "My body and my mind work as one"
This builds a positive emotional state and raises motivation.
4. Psychoregulatory training
A combination that includes:
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Autogenic phrases
- Visualization
- Music, if you want it
Done regularly, 20-30 minutes before the start or across the week before an important competition.
5. Rituals and anchors
Many athletes use symbolic actions before going out to compete:
- Putting on their kit in a particular order
- Listening to a particular song
- Repeating a gesture or a phrase
This reduces uncertainty and creates a sense of control.
An individual approach is the key to success
It is important to understand that a technique which works for one person may not suit another. That is why a sport psychologist helps build an individual preparation programme.
What is taken into account:
- The athlete's temperament
- The sport (individual or team)
- Their history of injuries and setbacks
- Their level of anxiety and resilience to stress
A professional's toolkit may also include biofeedback (training from heart rate, breathing and muscle tone data) and cognitive behavioural therapy, which allows deeper work on underlying beliefs.
The coach as mediator of the psychological climate
It is not only the psychologist who influences an athlete's emotional state. The coach plays a large part — how they speak, how they judge, how they react to mistakes.
What a coach can do:
- Avoid phrases like "you have to win"
- Support realistic goals
- Recognise effort, not only results
- Give feedback constructively
That is how psychological safety is built, and it lets an athlete work without fear of failing.
Support from the team and the people around you
Friends, family, teammates — all of them affect the level of stress.
What matters:
- Not creating excessive pressure
- Being there regardless of the result
- Keeping a positive outlook
The biathlete Martin Fourcade has said that before every start he gets a short message from his brother — not motivational, just warm. It helps him find his footing and lower the tension.
In conclusion
Pre-start nerves are natural. What matters is not avoiding them but learning to work with the state. As the experience of many champions shows, it is mental resilience and readiness that become the inner reserve which carries you to victory.
Working with a sport psychologist, using self-regulation techniques regularly and having support around you are not a luxury but an integral part of modern sporting preparation.
There is much more in the webinar from our psychologist Alexandra Gorokhova, "100% performance: getting yourself ready before a competition".