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STRESS MANAGEMENT

Relaxation - Deep breathing

Take deep, slow breaths rather than the shallow, fast breathing you feel when you are stressed
Try it now. Make sure you keep your shoulders low. Just the shoulders – don’t let the body ‘flop’. Make sure your shoulders do not move up as you breathe in. You can do this stress relieving exercise at any time, including when you are on the field of play

This really works physiologically to help you shut off the danger alarm

Muscular relaxation

Tensing and relaxing various muscle groups can work wonders

Try your neck and shoulders, your shoulder blades, your forehead and eyes, tensing these groups for a few seconds, then relaxing them

Doing it with single muscle groups will help you identify them and will allow you to discover how to do it easily and unobtrusively whenever and wherever you need

You can also combine this with deep breathing by inhaling while you tense, then exhaling when you relax the muscles

Visualisation

Try to invoke all your senses; sound, touch, smell and temperature, as you imagine being in a very peaceful, relaxing place such as a holiday resort or listening to your favourite music

After trying these methods you need to decide which one is best for you during a match situation

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