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Before · Prep

Game-Day Plan

Before you can prep right, you have to know how you show up — flat, wired, in your head, or pulled everywhere. Most players never figure that out.

Name your tendency below, and this builds the warm-up and game plan that fits it — what to do with your body, what to tell yourself, and the one routine you run every time. Keep the card.

1

Know how you tend to show up

Think about the last few big matches. Before the first whistle, which one sounds most like you? Tap one.

2

Arrive in your zone

Same goal for everyone — show up ready, not too low and not too high. But the way there depends on your tendency. Pick the moves you'll actually use; they go on your card.

Your warm-up breath, set to your tendency:

Ready?
Pick a tendency above and this sets itself.
3

Build the routine you run every time

A routine works because it's automatic — same steps, win or lose. Three pieces. Fill what fits.

The one thing you'll look at on the first ball

Lock onto something out in front of you — never your own body, which only tightens you up.

Your cue word

One word or short line you say right before you go. Not "calm" — something that points you forward.

Your process goal for the match

One thing you control on every point — countable whether or not it lands. Not the scoreboard.

Your game-day card

Here's your plan in one card. Run it the same way before every match.

You tend to
Pick your tendency in step 1.
Arrive
Pick your moves in step 2.
Breath
Set by your tendency in step 1.
Lock onto
Pick your target in step 3.
Cue word
Set your cue in step 3.
Process goal
Set your goal in step 3.

Tournament or all-day event?

Run this again between matches — your tendency can flip when you're tired. Refuel, reset, and don't carry the last match into the next. And when nerves spike during a match, that's a different tool: the Pressure Plan is the in-the-moment reset.

This is a prep tool, not therapy — these routines help you arrive ready and play your game. But if game days come with real dread, not just nerves — if you're gutting through and only feel relief when it's over — that's worth saying out loud to someone you trust: a parent, coach, or counselor. A routine won't fix that, and you shouldn't have to power through it alone. The Athlete Support page is there too.
Hope Ave Therapy · Sport & Performance