Tryouts can be a stressful time for individuals and with the 2025 spring sports season starting for Lincoln East High School, student athletes have to learn ways to overcome their nerves and play their best. Most spring sports tryouts began on March 3 and the pressure to perform well is immense, especially since the teams on Lincoln East are so talented. While nerves can be a pestering road block, the athletes still find ways to power through tryouts.
Feeling anxious before tryouts is a common phenomenon. According to the article “Understanding the stress response” from Harvard Health, individuals act this way due to external stressors and pressure which trigger a response in the amygdala and initiates our fight or flight response. Some effects of this response are rapid heart rate, intense breathing, flushed skin, or tense muscles. This added pressure may cause someone to not perform their ideal best. Lincoln East sophomore soccer player Shriish Sathish is no different from experiencing these anxious nerves.
“The pressure of tryouts maybe made me play a little bit worse,” Sathish said. “It’s the start of the season and nerves are a bit higher.”
It’s not uncommon for nerves to affect a player’s performance, especially for something this important. While a nervous breakdown before tryouts may not be ideal, for some individuals, the excitement mixed in with the anxiety can actually push them to do even better depending on how someone deals with these factors. Several athletes have learned to keep their composure for tryouts.
“I was calm and confident I would make the team,” Lincoln East sophomore boys soccer player Thang Tuang said. “I played at my own pace and just played freely. My performance at tryouts wasn’t much different than when I regularly play because I didn’t let fear affect me. I didn’t let the idea of whether I was going to play good or not affect my performance or scare me because in the end I knew I would make a team.”
Some players have learned to deal with their emotions and not let it affect their performance. While pressure can make someone play worse, it can also generate adrenaline to help improve performance. It depends on the individual as well as the coping mechanisms used to help alleviate stress and boost confidence. Freshman and varsity tennis player Belinda Qiao has learned how to deal with nerves in a positive way.
“I was confident enough in knowing that as long as I just focused on playing my game, I would be fine with the results,” Qiao said. “Even when I do get nerves, they usually go away once I start playing. There’s no need to stress during tryouts, just control the controllables.”
Qiao’s determined attitude, confident manner, and calm demeanor helped her be successful during tryouts and get the outcome she desired. Even when facing high expectations, she still didn’t let her nerves affect her performance. There are numerous methods to easing nerves and allowing the nervous adrenaline before tryouts to improve an individual’s performance. Some common examples would be taking deep breaths before playing, counting down, or simply knowing the fact that this one event doesn’t define someone’s entire capabilities.
