Chris Smalling Quotes

Sticking to a routine helps you get in the zone for the match. I always put my left shinpad on before my right. When I go out onto the pitch, I take three hops on my left leg - but I don't know why I started. I must have seen Messi do it or something.

Before important games, I don't change my preparation.

I try and have a relaxed attitude and stay quite switched off until about an hour before kick-off.

Every athlete acquires routines as a way to help control nerves.

I try to have the same mindset in my practices as I would for my fights.

When I prepare for a game the names are not really important to me.

I learn how to put myself in situations at practice that cause me to zone in on what I'm trying to accomplish at meets. I try to make my practice surrounding as close to competition pressure to focus on what I need to do on the big stage.

I felt good in the bullpen and even when we came out in the first inning I felt fairly good.

If I'm thinking about a particular injury, then I'm already a step behind. If I'm so gun shy in the pocket and not worried about the receivers that are open down field, something's going to happen that's not going to get the job done. So my main focus is having confidence in myself knowing that I'm able to be myself when I'm out there.

When I get up in the morning, I look forward to the games and I'm just buzzing. At the end of the day, if you are nervous or scared before games, you are not going to perform. I just go out there and think, 'If I get a chance, I'm going to score' and that's it.

I am always nervous before the start of a race. It helps me to say to myself to try my very best. That is my commitment. No matter how bad it gets, I will try my hardest.

But if I played well and prepared myself properly, then all I had to do was control myself and put myself in a position to win.

People expect you to play your best, so I go through a routine to prepare myself so that I know I'm physically and mentally ready - prepared for the game.

Before a match, I need to be alone. I need to reach concentration and focus on the game ahead of me.

If we lose games, and I don't score a lot, they gonna say I'm not scoring enough.

There will be mental worries with the long jump before Rio, but I know I can get through it. It's just getting my confidence back. I know I have a big jump in me.

You have to forget you are playing against your idol, because the guy on the other side also wants to play better than you and beat you. I don't think you should allow yourself to think like this when you go against any player.

My routine prior to a big game is the same for any other match. Eat, sleep, chat with teammates during the day, and then, as the match draws near, I listen to my music on the trip to the stadium and zone in.

I've always been quiet in the dressing room before the game. I try to focus and give everything.

If I get annoyed because I'm not in the headlines and don't do well in training, I won't do well if I have to go in. I've to be prepared because the World Cup isn't easy.

Psychology is a big part of sport that some people do not realise. But it is a skill you have to practice.

You go through mental preparation the night before the game and prepare for moments of trauma in a game when it happens.

It's interesting: I never got stressed before wrestling matches. I always felt completely confident that I had done everything I could do, all my mental preparations when I sat down and envisioned the match, so I never felt stressed.

Some players like to practise right up to the start of play. But for me, whatever warming up I did was only going to be followed by cooling down again.

One of the biggest things I've worked on is how to play my best tennis every single time I walk on to the court.