How to prepare for a game
Pregame preparation doesn’t start on the morning of the game — it starts the second the final whistle blows. Here’s a complete breakdown of everything you need to be doing from postgame through kickoff to give yourself the best chance of performing at your best.
Postgame: Where Pregame Begins
The Reset Shower
One of the simplest but most powerful habits you can build is using your postgame shower as a mental trigger to move on. This isn’t just a recovery tool — it’s a neuroplasticity setup that signals to your brain: this game is over, now we move forward. Make it hot, get the steam going, and if you have access to a hot tub or can get a massage in, even better.
Postgame Nutrition
Eating within a 30 to 60-minute window after the game will optimise your recovery. Think protein shakes, high quality protein bars, chocolate milk, or dates — which are an excellent source of fast carbs. The goal is to get this in quickly so you’re not eating a large meal right before bed. Sleep is your single best recovery tool, and eating late will disrupt it.
Film Review: Wait Until Tomorrow
It can be tempting to jump straight into your highlights or review a mistake as soon as the game ends — but resist it. Emotions run high after a game, both good and bad. If you watch a great save while you’re riding a high, the crash when you see a mistake will hit harder. Sleep on it. Come back with a clear head.
During the Week
Every goalkeeper’s weekly routine will look different depending on your level and schedule. But the core focus should always be the same: review what you can improve from the previous game. And this doesn’t just mean mistakes — look at moments where you did something well and ask whether it could have been even better. Maybe you made the save, but could you have held it instead of tipping it over?
Beyond film work, keep your routine as consistent as possible. Same sleep schedule, same wake time, same foods. The more predictable your week, the more stable your foundation going into game day.
One thing worth emphasising: you do not need a great week of training to perform well on game day. Telling yourself otherwise makes you fragile as an athlete — dependent on everything going perfectly in order to feel ready. Games are chaos. Life is chaos. The ability to perform without ideal conditions isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity.
The Day Before
Nutrition
What you eat the day before the game is more important than what you eat on game day itself. Game day nutrition is largely damage control — fine-tuning what’s already been done. Eat well the day before and you’ll feel the difference. Eat poorly and your body will carry that into the game.
Circadian Rhythm
Get up early, get some sunlight, go for a short walk. Most teams build this into their schedule anyway, but the key is consistency — keeping your body clock stable in the lead-up to the game.
Training: The 80/20 Rule
In your pregame training session, focus on simplifying the game. Think about the 20% of actions that account for 80% of what you’ll do in a match. For the modern goalkeeper, that’s predominantly passing — across almost every level of the game, distribution will make up the majority of your actions. Give it the emphasis it deserves.
The session before the game is not the time to overhaul anything. The work has already been done. These are final preparations, not the foundation.
Game Day
Surrender to the Work
“When it comes time to go, I’m doing everything in my power to surrender to the work I have done and commit to the present.”
By the time game day arrives, there’s nothing left to add. Trust your preparation, let your ability express itself, and stop trying to control the outcome.
The Invisible Opponent
It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. A big striker, a top-of-the-table side, a team on a winning run — none of it matters. The only opponent that matters is yourself. The ball is trying to go in the net and you are trying to stop it. Keep it that simple.
The self-fulfilling prophecy is real. When you keep telling yourself the opponent is too good, or that they’re going to score, you start to believe it — and eventually, you make it true. Compete to a standard, not to the circumstances.
Alter Ego
Find your switch. Whatever gets you into character — your alter ego, your Superman — use it. Flipping that mental switch before a game is a powerful performance tool that separates those who show up ready from those who are hoping to feel ready.
Pregame Nutrition
Have your main meal at least 3 to 4 hours before kickoff to allow for full digestion. Around 60 to 90 minutes before, have a light top-off — easy digestible carbs like honey or dates work well. Avoid anything high-fat, dairy, or unfamiliar to your stomach. The biggest risk on game day is eating something your body isn’t used to. This applies at halftime too.
If you drink caffeine, 15 to 30 minutes before the game is the sweet spot. Coffee or caffeine gum are ideal — skip the energy drinks.
Hydration
Aim for pale yellow urine throughout the day as your hydration marker. And remember — you can hydrate through food too. Foods with sodium help your body retain water and stay properly hydrated going into the game.
Warm-Up: Adapt, Don’t Script
Not every warm-up needs to look the same — and having a completely scripted warm-up can actually work against you. The game is never the same. The conditions, the opponent, the field, the weather — all of it changes. Your warm-up should reflect that.
Windy day? Take more crosses. Playing on a rough surface? Work with more ground balls. Facing a team that shoots from everywhere? See more shots in the warm-up. Tailor it to what you’re going to face.
And don’t put pressure on yourself to have a perfect warm-up. Plenty of goalkeepers have had poor warm-ups and gone on to have outstanding games. Your warm-up does not define your performance. You should be making mistakes in the warm-up. You should be having to make decisions. The idea that it’s just volley, dive, everything scripted — that’s not the game, so why would it be the preparation?
The work is already done. Trust it.
Watch the Full Session
This post is based on a live session from The Goalkeeper’s Union. If you found it useful, you can watch the full video breakdown on YouTube — and subscribe for more goalkeeper content every week.
