I am a strong believer that everybody has their own individual routines they do before a game, and they are different for everyone. Some people like to listen to music whilst others like to be surrounded by friends. I am still working on my game day rituals however I think I have found the perfect routine for me.
It starts with the night before; I always like to have a huge bowl of pasta for my dinner the night before. Firstly because it’s my favourite food, but also because it’s filled with carbs to give me energy. Nutritionists usually recommend eating more than usual the night before a game to make sure you are fuelled and ready. I always try to get a decent night’s sleep of around 10 hours. Some players can play with less sleep but I like to get as much rest as possible.
When I wake up in the morning I’ll have a huge breakfast, usually scrambled egg and avocado on toast and I’ll also have a huge bottle of water to make sure I’m hydrated. I often put electrolytes in my water on a game day. Whilst I eat I write a list of things I am grateful for. I’ve found that practising gratitude in the morning helps shift my mindset to a positive one and sets the day off to a good start. This is something I have done for the past few seasons. I will also always try to move my body in the morning of a game, maybe go for a nice walk and grab a coffee or even sometimes some yoga stretches if I feel I need it. I find that not moving before a game can make me feel sluggish so it’s good to move my body in a relaxing way beforehand.
I then have a really big lunch; a lot of the time I have pasta again or maybe a burrito. After lunch I start to eat less and just snack as I don’t like feeling too full for a game. Once I get to the game I’m pretty chilled, I’m not a listen to music type of person so I like to just be surrounded by team mates and have a laugh. I’m not superstitious so just doing things that feel good work for me. Everyone in the team is different and have different routines so we try to support each other in those as much as possible. For example if someone wants to grab a coffee before a game then a few people will tag along too. For me it’s good to be sociable and somewhat helps take my mind off the game for a little while.
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