How to Help Athletes With Performance Anxiety: A Coach's Evidence-Based Guide

6 science-backed strategies coaches can use to calm pre-race nerves and help young athletes perform under pressure.

You've watched your athlete spiral before a race—the slumped shoulders, the muttered "I can't do this," the eyes that won't meet yours. Your instinct kicks in the way it always does: reassure them, remind them of their training, tell them they'll be fine. Except none of it sticks, and sometimes your words seem to make it worse.

Here's part of why: when an athlete's stress response is strongly activated, the brain becomes much less able to process calm, rational reassurance. Acute stress—especially stress that feels uncontrollable—rapidly impairs the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for planning and self-regulation, and shifts control toward faster, more instinctive threat circuitry [1]. "You've done the work" and "You'll be fine" are perfectly reasonable statements, but they often don't land on an athlete whose stress system is running the show. It's less that the prefrontal cortex switches fully "offline" and more that its influence is temporarily turned down [1].

This doesn't mean you're doing it wrong—it means most coaches were never taught what actually works when anxiety takes over. The traditional toolkit of pep talks, reminders of past success, and commands to "just relax" wasn't built for how anxiety operates under pressure. What you need are evidence-based strategies that match how the stress response works, and they're more practical than you think.

Pre-Race Anxiety in Young Athletes Is Normal

Pre-competition anxiety is common among young athletes. Estimates of exactly how many are affected vary widely depending on how symptoms are defined and measured, but somatic complaints—stomach issues, racing thoughts, muscle tension, difficulty concentrating—are a routine part of race day rather than the exception [2]. Treat any single percentage you see quoted as a rough estimate, not a settled figure.

Diagnosable anxiety disorders are also relatively common in this age group. At any given point in time, close to 7% of youth worldwide meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, while cumulative (lifetime) estimates across childhood and adolescence run roughly 20–30%—about one in three to five young people at some point [3][4]. Competitive sport adds its own layer of pressure on top of this.

Adolescent brains are also still developing. The prefrontal cortex—responsible for planning, impulse control, and emotion regulation—is among the last regions to mature. Structural and neural development continues into the third decade of life, even though behavioral executive skills reach near-adult levels somewhat earlier, around ages 18–20 [5][6]. For many youth athletes, performance doesn't just matter—it can feel like who they are, as if how they do in sport becomes how they measure their worth as a person.

The Anxiety Isn't the Problem—The Story About It Is

How an athlete interprets anxiety matters. Athletes who read their symptoms as facilitative ("my body is getting ready to perform") tend to fare better than those who read the same symptoms as a sign that something is wrong—particularly when they feel a sense of control and self-efficacy [7]. Same butterflies, same racing heart, different meaning.

One caveat worth keeping honest about: reappraisal helps, but it isn't unlimited. Beyond a certain point, very high arousal can degrade performance regardless of how it's interpreted—the classic "inverted-U" relationship between arousal and performance [8]. Your job as a coach isn't to eliminate anxiety—it's to help athletes interpret and work alongside it.

6 Evidence-Based Strategies to Help Athletes Manage Performance Anxiety

1. Build a Pre-Race Routine

Pre-performance routines are among the best-supported tools for performing under pressure. A systematic review found they help across ages, genders, and skill levels, whether the routine is a single element or several combined—and athletes buy in more when they help build it themselves [7][9]. A broader meta-analysis of anti-"choking" interventions likewise found that pre-performance routines and similar strategies reliably reduce performance drop-off under pressure, especially in closed-skill sports [10]. Routines give anxious athletes something concrete to do, shifting focus from outcome to process.

Work with each athlete to develop their personal routine—a specific warm-up sequence 10 minutes before, three deep breaths plus one process goal 5 minutes before, and a cue word at the start line like "Trust the work." The key is practice: athletes should use the routine before hard training sessions, not just competitions. The more automatic it becomes, the more it holds up when anxiety peaks.

2. Teach Slow, Diaphragmatic “Low and Slow” Breathing

Slow, diaphragmatic breathing reliably shifts the nervous system toward parasympathetic ("rest and recover") dominance, and in several studies it lowers cortisol [11][12][13]. The longer exhale signals safety to the brain. A practical version: inhale through the nose for 4 counts, exhale through the mouth for 6 counts, repeat 3–5 times.

One honest note: most of the physiology research uses sustained slow breathing at paces around 4–6 breaths per minute, not a specific "4-in/6-out for a few cycles" pre-race protocol [11][13]. So treat the exact count as a sensible, easy-to-teach application of a well-supported mechanism rather than a precisely validated formula. Breathing and relaxation techniques also aren't the right fit for every athlete or every moment—some athletes need to raise arousal before competing [7]—so let athletes find what works for them.

Have athletes use it five to ten minutes before competition, when they notice physical anxiety symptoms, or after a mistake. Model it yourself.

3. Set Process Goals Instead of Outcome Goals

Outcome goals focus on results outside an athlete's control—"Win the race," "Make the podium," "Beat my personal record." When anxious athletes fixate on these, anxiety tends to intensify because they're trying to control the uncontrollable.

Process goals shift focus to what athletes can actually control in the moment: "Stay smooth on the technical parts," "Keep steady breathing," "Focus on the next play," "Execute my race plan." A systematic review and meta-analysis found that process and performance goals improved performance and attentional focus and reduced performance anxiety, with holistic process cues (e.g., "drive") outperforming narrow, part-focused cues (e.g., "arch back") under pressure [7].

Process goals are more powerful when they connect to what an athlete values. An athlete who values growth might focus on "trying one new strategy today"; one who values courage might focus on "staying in the moment when it gets hard." Linking goals to personal values fits acceptance- and autonomy-based approaches to motivation, even though "values-aligned process goals" haven't been tested as a discrete intervention.

Before each competition, have athletes identify 2–3 process goals that connect to their values. When anxiety spikes, redirect: "What's your process goal right now?"

For a comprehensive framework on building process-oriented habits that stick, check out our complete athlete habit guide.

4. Use the "Anxiety as a Passenger" Metaphor

Imagine anxiety is a passenger in your car while you drive to the competition. It might yell from the back seat: "Turn around! This is too hard!" But a passenger doesn't get to drive. You can let it yell while you keep heading toward what matters.

This is a classic defusion metaphor from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which helps people change their relationship to anxious thoughts rather than trying to eliminate them [14]. Across randomized trials, ACT shows efficacy broadly comparable to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety [15][16], and in sport, acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches are among the more effective ways to reduce anxiety [17].

For younger athletes, have them draw their anxiety as a character and give it a silly name. Practice saying: "Oh hey, Nervous Ned is here. He's loud today. I'm competing anyway." This playful approach helps athletes develop a healthier relationship with difficult emotions, which is especially important when they also struggle with self-criticism after mistakes.

5. Sort What Athletes Can and Can't Control

Perceived control is central to whether stress impairs performance, so a simple sorting exercise can be genuinely useful [1][18]. Before race day, draw two columns with your athlete.

Controllable: warm-up routine, nutrition timing and choices, hydration, where they direct their focus, level of effort, self-talk, attitude, race-plan execution, how they respond to mistakes, breathing patterns, body language.

Uncontrollable: who shows up to compete, weather, course conditions, how their body feels on race day, equipment malfunctions, officials' decisions, what competitors do, what parents or spectators think, race results.

The underlying principle is well-supported: fixating on uncontrollables sustains threat activation because there's no action to resolve it, whereas active, control-focused coping buffers competitive pressure [18]. The specific whiteboard exercise is a practical application of that principle rather than a formally tested tool—but it's a sound one.

When anxiety shows up on race day, redirect: "What's one thing you can control right now?" For younger athletes: "Can you control the weather? No. Can you control your warm-up? Yes. Let's focus there." Practice this when stakes are low so it's automatic when pressure is high.

This framework also builds resilience against and to handle perfectionism. Athletes who understand what they can and cannot control stop holding themselves accountable for things outside their influence, which often fuels pre-race anxiety by creating unrealistic standards tied to uncontrollable outcomes.

6. Ask Questions Instead of Giving Commands

Drawing out an athlete's own reasoning tends to build autonomy, coping, and problem-solving better than simply issuing directives—an approach consistent with motivational interviewing and self-determination-based coaching, which can improve motivation and reduce anxiety [19]. Questions also invite collaboration rather than triggering a defensive, cornered response.

Instead of "You should focus on your warm-up," try "What helped you last time you felt nervous?" Instead of "You need to calm down," ask "What's one thing you can control in this moment?"

A note on the "why": it's fair to say questions help anxious athletes access their own resources, but claims that questions specifically "activate the prefrontal cortex" go beyond what the evidence directly shows. The behavioral rationale is strong; treat the brain-activation explanation as a helpful analogy, not established fact. Over time, athletes internalize this process and begin coaching themselves through hard moments.

Build a Team Culture Where Anxiety Isn't Shameful

ndividual strategies matter, but culture matters too. Build an environment where performance anxiety is normalized rather than pathologized—share your own pre-competition nerves, celebrate courage rather than just outcomes, and make space for all emotions. Model healthy management by letting athletes see you use breathing and process goals. When athletes feel psychologically safe, they take smarter risks, ask for help, and develop genuine resilience. We have a guide on creating psychologically safe teams that translates across all sports.

When to Refer an Athlete for Professional Mental Health Support

Pre-race anxiety is normal, but watch for signs that an athlete needs support beyond coaching: intense anxiety that doesn't improve with reasonable interventions over a few weeks, avoiding practice or competitions for extended periods, physical symptoms interfering with school or daily life, significant changes in sleep or appetite, social withdrawal, any comments about self-harm, or panic attacks. Self-harm comments and panic attacks warrant prompt escalation.

If you see these signs, connect the family with a mental health professional who specializes in working with athletes. Learn more about recognizing clinical-level concerns in our article on performance anxiety in athletes.

Athletes Don't Need Confidence—They Need Skills

Athletes don't have to feel confident to perform well—they need to show up anyway. Confidence often follows action rather than preceding it, and acceptance-based approaches explicitly help athletes act on their values while making room for anxious thoughts rather than waiting for them to disappear [7]. The goal isn't eliminating pre-race anxiety—it's helping athletes perform alongside it.

When you teach young athletes they can feel nervous and still compete, you're teaching a life skill they'll carry long after their athletic careers end. That anxiety can ride along; it just doesn't get to drive.

Ready to bring these strategies to your team? Skadi Sport Psychology offers evidence-based workshops designed specifically for coaches and parents who want to create healthier, more resilient athletes. We're athletes and coaches ourselves, and we understand the unique pressures of youth sports. Explore our coaching workshop offerings to learn how we can support you and your athletes with sport-related anxiety.

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