In a matter of minutes, or even seconds, you’ll step on the field and show the world what you’ve got. Sweat starts to bead on your forehead and your hands start to shake from all of the nerves. You hear someone say, “It’s go time,” and the blood rushes to your head. But soon, you realize everything’s okay. You know everything’s okay because you remembered you had the usual eggs and toast for breakfast this morning, you put your right sock on before the left, and you listened to that horribly awesome song your dad once said was his favorite. You had the perfect pregame, there was no reason to worry. 

A vital step in performing well and having confidence while competing is having a good pregame or pre performance for most, or even all, competitors. 

Sophomore Cameron Hamilton is among the group of student-athletes that have developed a formulaic routine to help him feel confident going into his games whether it’s for baseball, football, or a wrestling match. 

“Whenever I think of a pregame ritual I think of something I do over and over again to get me mentally prepared to go compete,” Hamilton said.                           

For others, like junior Drum Major Meredith Koehler, they see it as an opportunity to get excited and get the energy flowing.

“It’s kind of the pre-hype,” Koehler said. “That is when I think I get the most excited for a performance.”

Routine is the key when creating your own, custom pregame.

“I usually listen to either country or rap music…I put my socks on, then pants, and then jersey,” Hamilton said. “And then I pray.” 

Sometimes, your perfect pregame or pre performance comes along with time and past experiences.

“I cannot do my hair for the life of me, so before every performance, every competition, Isabella Delwiche does my hair and it’s like our thing now,” Koehler said. “Right before we go to perform we have this handshake that the three [drum majors] do.” 

After creating that ultimate pregame, you have to put it to use and keep that ball rolling. 

“If I warm up sloppy and just go through the motions, that’s what I’m gonna do in the game,” Hamilton said. “But if I come out and warm up as best I can and just prepare myself, then I’ll perform better.” 

Sometimes, you may be thrown a curveball and have to readjust to the circumstances. 

“I think for football games we’re way more chilled out because it’s not a big deal,” Koehler said. “But right before competitions, if things are going kind of wrong, it freaks us all out.” 

Even if it is the smallest things, building simple routines into your pregame or pre performance can drastically change your execution and your mindset.