Pre-Skate Jitters?

[Neo5370 132]

Anyone ever see that movie "The Cutting Edge" w. D.B. Sweeney? It's about this ex hockey player who becomes a figure skater..........anyhow, in the movie he says he throws up before every game cuz he gets so nervous.

Same thing has been happening to me ever since I started playing hockey. Only it happened before practices and drop in too.

I don't play competetive hockey anymore, just pick up and rec. leagues but I still get nauteous before just about every skate.

Anyone else feel anxious if not queasy before games?

[stevo 0]

I got a guy on one of my teams that looks like a ghost before every game. He just sits quietly in the corner of the dressing room and looks very uneasy. I can't recall seeing him puke ever but sometimes it looks like he wants to. Not too sure what his deal is...he's probably the best player on my team once we hit the ice.

[#1STUD 0]

I get nervous sometimes before games, but nothing like to where im about to puke or anything. If i get nervous before a game it usually means i am going to have a really good game.

[Neo5370 132]

I got a guy on one of my teams that looks like a ghost before every game. He just sits quietly in the corner of the dressing room and looks very uneasy. I can't recall seeing him puke ever but sometimes it looks like he wants to. Not too sure what his deal is...he's probably the best player on my team once we hit the ice.

He's probably nervous about not playing well..........that's why I get jittery. I know I'm not horrible, and I know I should just be playing to have a good time.....but it still gets to me........ah well, I've learned to not eat before games

[Eazy_b97 1]

I'll throw up if I eat within 3 hours before a game. It just sits there and gives me a nervous feeling. Always happens once I'm dressed and after the pre-game talk.

[GekigangarIII 0]

Well, in the movie the guy that got nervous and threw up became a figure skater.. maybe you're in the wrong "sport"... :P

Seriously, it's just performance anxiety. I used to get butterflies if it was an important game, but it was usually remedied by taking a big dump... lol.

[stevo 0]

I am also an advocate of the pre-game dump. Seems to get the butterflies out.

[stix04 0]

I am also an advocate of the pre-game dump. Seems to get the butterflies out.

Agreed. I drop the deuce right before I leave for the rink. Then on my way there i get butterflies, but once I'm in the lockerrom and dressed, they go away. I find that if I interact with teammates in the lockerroom, the butterflies go away, or i forget about them. It's probably not the best thing to sit there quiet and reserved for the whole time, maybe a few minutes before you hit the ice, but not the whole time dressing.

[stevo 0]

I'm usually half drunk before I even get the skates laced up...I find that helps too.

[chippa13 1844]

Cam Neely used to throw up before every game and there are a bunch of past and present pros that do. It's not really because they are nervous so much as they are just so keyed up for the game.

[Neo5370 132]

Cam Neely used to throw up before every game and there are a bunch of past and present pros that do. It's not really because they are nervous so much as they are just so keyed up for the game.

I heard the same about Bill Russel (wrong sport I know). But it's terribly inconvenient and kind of embarassing if someone sees me do it. Especially cuz I'll manage to hold it back and sometimes I think I'm fine until I get through warm ups.......like I said I don't eat anything before I play so I'm mostly shooting blanks so to speak.

[stevo 0]

You mean you dry-heave? That's even worse.

[Briggy 0]

For me its different, if i get nervous i feel like i gotta shit or puke. Usually i get nervous if it is a new team or i go to play in a new area. I know its odd, but when i am on my way i just take deep breathes and visualize me play and some moves i have done in the past. In a way it gets me ready and then i realize that i play for the love of the sport.

[Flyerguy91 0]

i have never felt nervous b4 games, slightly tense. i am usually so focused that i dont feel anything else.

[Shorthanded67 0]

Man if I had a dime for every post over on CB that evolved into the "pre-game dump" discussion..... :D

[thejackal 46]

When i get nervous before games, I pee. Slightly less incovenient :P

[D3nZ 0]

I get excited (in another way) I just get buterflies and I have to pee a couple of times before getting dressed. When I get on the ice though, I forget all of that, It's just pure simple hockey fun.

[mack 44]

Other than dropping the kids off at the pool (which I do at home because I don't like the away fields) I just sit there and get my Charlie Manson stare on.

[J-Shera 0]

I most deffinetly allways get the shits before a game, Its so dam annoying.

[Neo5370 132]

You mean you dry-heave? That's even worse.

Yeah. But to tell the truth, I've gotten used to so it doesn't feel that bad anymore. The worst case scenario is that I'll convince myself that I'm not queasy but as soon as it's my shift it'll hit me all of sudden............which makes me useless for like 10 seconds.

I've done the pre-game deuce thing and it does help, but my kids don't feel like leaving the house very often.

I hate to say it but I think the only way this'd get better is if I improve so drastically I can be overly confident about my play (which happened for one season of roller hockey cuz I had the time to do nothing but play or workout).

Or I get to the point where I don't get so keyed up about playing hockey. But then that would defeat the purpose................

[Neo5370 132]

I most deffinetly allways get the shits before a game, Its so dam annoying.

perhaps it's due to too much hot peppers and salsa? :P

[bulletproof_funk 0]

I used to get a bit nervous, uptight or anxious before games. I would be thinking about the game ahead of me, like worrying about screwing up or not having a good game, and this was just pickup. Still, I had some good games like that. I was never nervous to the point where I had to go #2 or #3 though, but I did go #1 just to be safe.

I don't get nervous any more though, probably because I've already screwed up enough times over the years that one more mistake isn't going to bother me, just another drop in the bucket (I'm not talking about the bathroom metaphores either). :lol: I guess my perspective has changed a bit over the years, and I just don't care about certain parts of the game like I used to. That's good for me because I'm more relaxed, yet I'm able to focus when the game starts. I try to keep things fun by joking with guys during warmup and such. I'm still able to improve my game by keeping loose, and I'm not completely complacent yet either.

[Next Sakic 0]

sometimes i can just try my jitters into like pure energy. one time though in the biggest tournament of my life, like they play O Canada, Call the names out, spotlights, man i must have puked on the bench like 3 times. weh intense.

[headonaswivel 1]

In Midget and Junior I used to get nervous either on the drive there or in the dressing room. In minor hockey its better I found because you go out, warm up and go.

In Junior you get the warm up, with some music to fire you up. Then head down into the room, get a flood, talk it up a bit, continue to get more focused and excited, let the energy build. Then come out and fly around. Building the energy up more.

The anthem is what killed me because once the energy starts its hard to stop, so to be quiet and stand there sucked.

That was all of the jitters at once for me. I always tap each foot twice in a row during the entire anthem. L L R R L L RR......... nerves, excitement, energy all at once.

Now that I think about it, I do it even when Im at a game. Like Im part of it

[lee92 2]

our back up back up goalie this yr in high school (we had 3 goalies) would puke so much before and during games. before he'd go to play, he'd puke...during the intermissions while they were doing the ice he'd puke. it was nuts!