Competition Anxiety: What's Proven – and What Isn't
Editorial background text · Status 18.6.2026
Ten minutes before the throw-off. Hands are cold, stomach's tight, and you're already replaying the first technical foul in your head.
What's happening right now?
- · The sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate, breathing rate, and muscle tone.
- · Attention narrows – sometimes helpful, sometimes focused on the wrong things.
- · Thoughts about possible consequences ('if I miss...') heighten the physical reaction.
Why does that happen?
- · Activation itself says little about performance. What matters is whether it's seen as a challenge or a threat (Jamieson et al., 2010; Hanton et al., 2004).
- · An external, task-oriented focus protects performance better than trying to calm down (Wulf, 2013).
- · Slowed breathing with prolonged exhalation measurably reduces acute activation – the effect is real, but moderate and short-term (Zaccaro et al., 2018).
What can you do?
- · Name symptoms instead of fighting them: 'That's adrenaline, not proof of a bad game.'
- · Lower activation: 60-second breathing with exhalations twice as long as inhalations.
- · Anchor attention: a specific word for the first task after the throw-off.
Try this
One breath cycle: 4 seconds in, 8 seconds out – six times. Then one word for your first action.
When to get help
- · If anxiety persists for weeks, even outside of sport.
- · If training or school is being avoided.
- · Seek qualified help for severe symptoms. Call 999 or 112 immediately if there is imminent danger.
For Parents
What we know
- · Match anxiety is common in youth sports and usually not a disorder.
- · How you assess tension influences performance and experience.
What we don't know
- · Who develops an anxiety disorder from normal nervousness cannot be predicted.
- · How strongly short interventions work in a real game is insufficiently researched.
What that means in practice
- · Normalise symptoms, don't dramatise them.
- · No appeals to calm down ('just relax') – they increase self-consciousness.
- · If avoidance is persistent over weeks: involve a specialist.
Methods behind it
Sources
- Jamieson, J. P., Mendes, W. B., Blackstock, E., & Schmader, T. (2010). Turning the knots in your stomach into bows: Reappraising arousal improves performance on the GRE. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.Single studyPopulation: Young adults under exam pressureDOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.08.015
- Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S. D., & Hall, R. (2004). Self-confidence and anxiety interpretation: A qualitative investigation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise.Single studyPopulation: Competitive athletesDOI 10.1016/S1469-0292(03)00040-2
- Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.Systematic ReviewPopulation: Predominantly healthy adultsDOI 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
- Lehrer, P., Kaur, K., Sharma, A., et al. (2020). Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.Systematic ReviewPopulation: Clinical and athletic samples, mostly adultsDOI 10.1007/s10484-020-09466-z
- Bühlmayer, L., Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., Faude, O., & Donath, L. (2017). Effects of Mindfulness Practice on Performance-Relevant Parameters and Performance Outcomes in Sports: A Meta-Analytical Review. Sports Medicine.Systematic ReviewPopulation: Athletes, predominantly young adultsDOI 10.1007/s40279-017-0752-9
Relevant to this
Why you get nervous before games – and why that’s okay
Cold hands, churning stomach, pulse racing at 120 during warm-up. What's happening in your body and how to use it.
The journey home
Immediately after the game, 15 minutes in the car
The drive home after the game
For many, it's the toughest part of game day. Here's how it can change – for everyone involved.
Competitive Sport and Pressure: Where Does Encouragement End?
“I’m sorry you made the trip for nothing.” That phrase can be an opening to talk about expectations. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent. Ask how your child received it, rather than rushing to justify your support.
After a bad game: What really helps?
A missed shot plays on your child’s mind. You also saw good moments and want to offer comfort. Before listing them, check: does your child actually want to talk about the match right now? There’s no need for a compulsory debrief, nor a ban on talking straight away.
4–8 breathing (extended exhale)
Lower arousal level: Heart rate down, field of vision wide again, head ready for action again.
These contents are knowledge and training offerings from sport psychology. They do not replace psychotherapy, medical treatment, or professional sport psychological support.