How to handle your child's nerves before a football game

By Peter Schwartz | Posted 3/21/2017

Football players get ready for a game in different ways, no matter what level they play at.

This is certainly the case in youth football where not every kid handles a situation the same way.  Some kids might spend the hours leading up to a game with not a care in the world, but there are also some that have a routine to get ready and in some cases, it brings about different levels of anxiety.  

My son Bradley would fall into the latter category as he takes football, and the preparation that goes along with it, very seriously. 

If your child is like mine, the nerves on gamedays sets in at different times and in different ways.  I’m not saying that other kids don’t care about the game, but the ones who ooze with passion have the juices flowing hours before the game and it’s a challenge for a parent to try and calm them.  Certain kids will drive themselves crazy the day of a game, so there has to be a way to settle them down.

The level of anxiety for a youth football player generally depends on the day and time of the game. 

In the case of my son, his team generally plays on either Saturday nights or Sunday mornings/afternoons.  The difference is that when there’s a Saturday game, Bradley will have all day to think about the game and find a way to control his emotions.  For Sunday games, sometimes sleep can be a little restless. Also, there's less time on Sundays to mentally prepare for games, since the countdown to gametime begins as soon as he wakes up

For a Saturday night game, my wife and I do our best to try and get him out of the house to keep his mind busy.  Whether it’s an activity, shopping, or just going out to lunch, anything to get Bradley’s mind off the game is the objective.  There was one day when he wanted to start putting on his uniform four hours before game time.  When we’re in the house, we encourage him to relax, listen to music, read a book or even play a video game or two. (Just not Madden or NCAA football!)

When his team plays a Sunday morning game, we try to get Bradley up early so he can have a good breakfast and begin to get ready for the game.  There’s not a lot of time to take in an activity, so we do our best to get Bradley to watch a little television or listen to some music before it’s time to get dressed.

For either the night or day game scenario, the car drive to the game is another opportunity for the nerves to set in.  In either case, Bradley will bring his IPod with him so he can relax with some tunes.  We try not to talk about the game with him in the car because my wife and I want him to relax.  When we get to the field and he puts his shoulder pads and jersey on, then we’ll start talking football as he makes his way to the field.

We’ve found that if we’re able to control Bradley’s emotions in the hours and even days leading up to a game, he doesn’t put the weight of the world on his shoulders and he’s better prepared for the game.  Every kid is different so it’s just important that you get your child into the right pre-game routine that provides the calming influence that is really needed.

Peter Schwartz is an anchor and reporter for the CBS Sports Radio Network. He also writes a CBS New York sports blog at http://newyork.cbslocal.com/tag/peter-schwartz/. You can follow him on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. Peter’s son Bradley plays for the Levittown Red Devils of the Nassau Suffolk Football League on Long Island in New York. His son Jared cheers on Bradley and then Bradley returns the favor when Jared is playing soccer.

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