Breathing for calm before competition

Setup

1. Players sit on a bench or chair with feet flat, or stand with their back against a wall; eyes open or closed, whatever feels comfortable.
2. Keep it quiet; phones away for five minutes.
3. No breath holding and nothing forceful. Anyone with asthma, a heart or lung condition, or who feels dizzy breathes normally and simply listens.

How it runs

1. Settle (1 min): notice the feet on the floor and the seat under you. Let the shoulders drop away from the ears and unclench the jaw.
2. Natural breath (1 min): breathe in and out through the nose if comfortable, without changing anything; count five breaths.
3. Longer out-breath (2 min): breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of six, smooth and quiet. If that feels like a strain, in for three, out for four. About eight rounds.
4. Focus word (30 s): pick one short word for the game, such as 'ready', 'sharp' or 'together', and say it silently on the next three out-breaths.
5. Return (30 s): open the eyes, look around the room, roll the shoulders and stand up ready to warm up.

Coaching points

• Keep the coach's voice calm and slow; the group follows the pace of the voice.
• The out-breath does the settling; never push the breath or squeeze the belly.
• Feeling nervous before competition is normal; the aim is to feel steady, not flat.
• Practise it at training a few times so it feels familiar on match day.

Common mistakes

• Breathing in big gulps through the mouth.
• Counting too fast so the breath becomes rushed.
• Making it too long; five minutes is plenty before a game.
• Doing it so late that players go out cold; finish before the physical warm-up.