Quiz the Coach - Pre-Game Jitters

So ya dig sports but need some help with your game? Don't understand some of the rules of b-ball or soccer? Got a gripe about teammates or coaches, or anything? Why not Quiz the Coach. The Kidzworld Coach can help ya work out team problems or give ya tips and advice to improve your game - all ya gotta do is ask!

Hey Coach,
Most of the time you get gripes about P.E. coaches doing too much, but I have another kind. My coach doesn't do anything to us! On conditioning day, we sit and talk or we walk the track. I'm an athlete and I can't sit still. The rest of the classes are out there running around and all that and we're just sitting there. HELP!
SmartSpy86

Hey SmartSpy86,
Sounds like your coach is a lazy slob who doesn't really know too much about conditioning. It's time for your coach to drop that bag of chips and start running a proper P.E. class. It's fine for a P.E. teacher to take some class time to explain an exercise or drill - but there's no reason for you to be spending an entire class talking or walking the track.

Ask the coach to make your P.E. classes more active and challenging. You could even challenge the coach to a race. He or she may not know what you or the rest of the class thinks. If your coach continues to run P.E. classes that bore you into a coma, talk to your principal or another coach at school. They may be able to give your P.E. teacher some teaching or exercise tips to step-up the pace of the class.

Hey Coach,
Whenever I'm about to play in a big game of basketball or baseball, I start to feel really nervous and my stomach gets queezy. What should I do?
Breakin29

Hey Breakin29
Don't sweat it. Unless you've been eating something nasty before each game, you've just been getting pre-game jitters. It happens to athletes all the time - even the pros. Before playing his first NBA playoff game, Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers only got about 15 minutes sleep and said, "I felt like I had a buzzard in my stomach."

Those butterflies, buzzards or whatever else you feel inside your stomach before the game are normal. To keep them under control, stay relaxed and visualize yourself playing well. Just before the game's about to start, try thinking about something other than the game. Crack a joke with your friends or think about how you're gonna score with that babe sitting on the sidelines watching. Stay cool and calm and you'll be feeling just fine when the Ump yells, "Play ball!"

Do you have a question on sports, fitness or health? Send it to the Kidzworld Coach.

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