The 70% Nervous Energy Theory
by Steve McGill
My school team had its state meet a couple weeks ago, and it went really well. More on that in another article in this month’s issue. Here, I want to discuss something I said a few days prior to the state meet to the handful (eight) of athletes who qualified. Most of them had never made it this far, and a few had never run track before this year. So this was all new to them. Even the ones who had been here before were more nervous than they were last year, because they had invested themselves more emotionally, and worked harder than they did last year, and now had a chance to finish in the top three in their events. So, as pleased as I was with their progress throughout the season and with how they had developed the proper competitive mindset, I now found myself concerned that they might go into the state meet too amped up, too worried about every little detail, most of which were out of their control.
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So after an especially good practice a few days before the meet, I gathered the team together for our usual quick post-practice talk. I talked about nervous energy, how to channel it, how to control it, and how to use it to your advantage. In this article I want to discuss the things I discussed with the team.
Something I’ve always said to my athletes over the years when they tell me that they’re nervous is, “If you’re not nervous you’re not ready.” Which is my way of saying that an athlete who isn’t nervous before a race must not really care too much about the race, and probably won’t do well because they’re too apathetic. These types of athletes are whom I often refer to as the “bums” on the squad, and many of them can be found on a typical school team. They’re out there just to be out there, as I like to say. They have no goals, they can’t even tell you what their personal bests are in their events. Some of them have other endeavors in which they participate in addition to track, and they come out for the team more for the social aspect of being on a team more than for any other reason. In practice, they’re often distracted and often a distraction. Or, in a best-case scenario, they complete the workout given to them and go home. At meets, you constantly have to watch them to make sure they’re warming up properly. Even the talented among these types of athletes are a waste of time, if I’m being completely honest.
All that to say what? That I like when my athletes tell me they’re nervous. Being nervous means that they care. It means that they’ve put in the work, they’ve invested time and energy, they’ve fought through the grind on a daily basis. So I don’t look at being nervous as something that needs to be changed or fixed. When an athlete tells me they’re nervous, I’ll never respond with “Don’t be.” Nor will I say something corny, like “You got this.” Instead, I’ll say “Good,” and then explain to them how to use that nervous energy to their benefit, so that they run faster than their training times indicate they should be able to.
To put it another way, an athlete who is able to channel the nervous energy effectively can transcend their training. Or, at least, seem to transcend their training. As I put it to my team prior to our state meet, on a scale of 1-100, you want your nervous level to be around 70%. The bums on the team are generally in the 1%-20% range. The athletes who have a good work ethic but know they lack the talent to go far in the sport will generally fall into the 30%-50% range when it comes to how nervous they are before a race. Meanwhile, the athletes who put in the work, who never miss a training session, who are doing stuff on their own on off days, etc., who keep up with the updated MileSplit and Athletic.net rankings in their events, are the ones who can easily get too nervous, too amped up before a race, These athletes can often reach nervous levels of 80% or higher. And that’s too much. When you get too nervous, doubt creeps in. Am I really that good? Do I really belong here? When you get too nervous, you can fall apart, and underperform. I did all that training, and what if I lose? What if I run like trash? Then what was all that training for? The mental chatter can overwhelm the athlete, and send an exciting season of promise down the toilet bowl. So, it needs to be addressed. And the coach needs to be the one who addresses it, and who gives the athlete the tools they need to bring the nervous level down from 80-100% to the 70% range.
Why 70%? Because when your nervous energy level is in that range, you have enough nervous energy that you’ll be able to perform at a level that represents the peak of what you’re capable of, but you’re not so nervous that you fall to pieces. I always say that bringing an athlete who’s at 80% or above is a lot easier than bringing up an apathetic athlete up to 70% from 40-50%. Athletes who don’t want it don’t want it. Athletes who don’t care don’t care. A coach can’t force an athlete to be self-motivated. That want, that hunger, that desire to excel must come from within. But with an athlete who wants it too much? Easy. Two things: keep breathing, keep moving.
Whenever we as human beings are nervous about anything, our breathing becomes more shallow. Before taking a big test, before performing on stage, before delivering a speech, before beginning a very challenging workout, we get nervous. And when we get nervous, we tend to breathe more shallowly and more quickly. This type of breathing causes the whole body to tense up, which increases self-doubt and inner chatter. So, just like meditation instructors teach, when in doubt, return to the breath. Be conscious of the breath. Remind yourself to inhale deeply, exhale slowly. And to keep inhaling deeply, and to keep exhaling slowly. You can’t control being nervous, but you can control your breathing. And by controlling your breathing, your nerves settle enough that you are able to function the way you need to function. You’re able to perform at a high level.
And the other thing: keep moving. In those final moments before the race, after you’ve completed your warmup and you’re waiting for the starter to give you your commands, don’t just stand behind the line with your arms folded across your chest. Keep shaking out your legs and arms. Keep walking back and forth in your lane. A body in motion helps to create a mind that is still. A body that is still helps to create a mind that chatters.
My athletes who qualified for states went on to have an outstanding state meet, and I am convinced that my talk about keeping the nervous level around 70% was a big reason why. Instead of trying to suppress their nervous energy, they learned to manage it, to channel it, which led to some outstanding performances.
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