Why Your Nervous System Is the Real Muscle You’re Training

for High School Athletes Who Want to Play in College

In the past, I helped 3 high school boys get into D1 universities for the sport of fencing. Discussing these accomplishments with my AI Gongju, she pointed out how my involvement with them not only trained their muscles for their wins, but also their nervous system. Though having my presence next to them was indeed one of their greatest game changers, she listed some tips athletes can focus on to help with their nervous system in order to take their game to the next level:

If you’re a high school athlete trying to make it to the next level, you probably hear this all the time:

• “Get stronger.”

• “Hit the weight room.”

• “You need more size, more speed, more power.”

So you think: muscles. More muscle = more offers. More playing time. More respect.

But underneath every sprint, every cut, every jump shot, every tackle, every swing, there’s something more important running the show:

Your nervous system — your body’s electrical control center.

You don’t just compete with your body. You compete with your signal.

In this post, I want to show you:

• Why strength and speed are nervous system skills, not just “big muscles”

• How safety, breath, and tempo can help you perform better under pressure

• A few simple drills you can use before practice, games, or lifting

  
  

If you want to play in college, you can’t just chase numbers. You have to train the system that controls everything.

1. Your Nervous System Decides How Strong You Are Today

You might think:

• “I benched this last week, why does it feel heavy today?”

• “I’m strong in training, but in games I freeze.”

• “Sometimes I feel fast, sometimes I feel slow and heavy.”

That’s not random.

Your nervous system decides:

• How much force your muscles are allowed to produce

• How fast you can react

• How coordinated and smooth you feel

• Whether you’re in “flow” or in “panic”

Every rep, every sprint, every play is a conversation:

• Your brain: “Can we go hard?”

• Your nervous system: “Are we safe enough to do that?”

• Your body: responds based on that answer.

If your system feels:

• Stressed

• Tired

• Threatened

• Overloaded with school, social life, expectations

• Or still carrying fear from a past injury

…it will limit your output to protect you.

A lot of “I choke in big moments” is not a talent problem. It’s a nervous system problem.

College coaches don’t just want big numbers. They want athletes who can access their abilities under pressure.

That means: you need to train your nervous system, not just your muscles.

2. Safety = Access to Your Real Performance

Your nervous system is always scanning:

• “Are we safe?”

• “Do we know what’s happening?”

• “Is this predictable or chaotic?”

If the answer feels like “no,” you might notice:

• Tight, stiff movement

• Overthinking mid-play

• Struggling to “turn it on” in games

• Playing scared after an injury

• Getting tired faster than you should

This doesn’t mean you’re soft. It means your system is doing its job: protect first, perform second.

The safer your nervous system feels, the more of your real ability you can actually use.

Safety for an athlete doesn’t mean “easy” or “comfortable.” It means:

• You understand the drill or play

• You trust your body in that movement

• You’re not constantly bracing for pain or failure

• You know you’re allowed to adjust if something feels off

If your training and environment always feel like:

• “Don’t mess up.”

• “Don’t show weakness.”

• “Push until you break.”

…your system will start holding back.

If your training says:

• “We push hard, but we’re smart.”

• “We respect pain signals.”

• “We build, we don’t just destroy.”

…your system will start giving you more power, more speed, more confidence.

3. Breath: Your Built-In Performance Switch

Think about the last time you were:

• On the free-throw line at the end of a game

• Lined up for a big sprint

• In the batter’s box with runners on base

• About to take a penalty, serve, or corner

What happened to your breathing?

Most athletes, under pressure:

• Hold their breath

• Breathe fast and shallow in their chest

• Barely exhale

That tells your system:

“We’re in danger. Survival mode now.”

In survival mode, your body doesn’t care about:

• Perfect technique

• Fine motor skills

• Smart decision-making

It cares about not dying.

But your sport requires:

• Precision

• Timing

• Clear thinking

Breath is your manual override.

When you:

• Breathe through your nose (whenever possible)

• Let your exhale be a bit longer than your inhale

• Let your ribs and belly move, not just your upper chest

You’re telling your system:

“We’re under pressure, but we’re okay. It’s safe to use our skills.”

This is how elite athletes look “calm” in huge moments. It’s not that they don’t feel pressure —they’ve learned how to breathe through it.

4. Tempo: Teaching Your Body to Trust Your Movements

Tempo = how fast or slow you do a rep or a movement.

In the weight room, a lot of athletes only care about:

• How much weight is on the bar

• How many reps they hit

But your nervous system cares about how controlled you are.

Rushed, sloppy reps feel like:

• “We don’t fully own this pattern.”

• “We’re just surviving the weight.”

Controlled, intentional tempo feels like:

• “We know exactly what we’re doing.”

• “We can handle this load and this position.”

Tempo is how you convince your nervous system: “It’s safe to give me more speed, more power, more strength.”

For a high school athlete, this means:

• Don’t rush your squats, bench, or pulls just to impress someone

• Own the lowering part of the lift (eccentric)

• Be explosive when it’s time to be, but not out of control

Also, match tempo to your life:

• If your day is already chaotic (school, drama, stress):

→ Use calm, controlled tempo in the gym to stabilize your system.

• If you feel flat, low-energy, stuck:

→ Add a few fast, explosive reps (med ball throws, jumps, sprints) after a good warm-up to wake your system up.

Same exercise, different signal.

5. Nervous System Drills for Athletes (You Can Use This Week)

Here are three simple tools you can start using right away:

• Before practice

• Before games

• Before or between sets in the weight room

You don’t need special gear. Just a few minutes and intention.

5.1. Shaking: Clearing the Static Before You Compete

Think of your body like a phone with too many apps open. Shaking = closing some of those background apps.

When to use it:

• Before warm-ups

• When you feel stiff, tight, or “heavy”

• After a mistake, to reset your body

How to do it:

1. Stand with feet about hip-width apart.

2. Start with a light bounce in your knees.

3. Let your arms hang and shake them out — hands, wrists, elbows.

4. Let the shaking travel into your shoulders, chest, and jaw.

5. Shake for 30–60 seconds.

6. Stop. Take one slow breath in, and a long, soft exhale.

You might feel a little silly. That’s okay.

You’re telling your system:

“Let’s drop some tension. Let’s reset.”

Then go into your dynamic warm-up. Notice if you feel a bit more loose and awake.

5.2. Sighing: Releasing Hidden Pressure

A lot of athletes carry invisible pressure:

• Expectations from coaches

• Parents watching

• Fear of losing your spot

• Fear of not getting recruited

If you never release that pressure, it shows up as:

• Tight shoulders

• Shallow breathing

• Overthinking small mistakes

Sighing is a simple way to let some of that go.

When to use it:

• On the sideline or bench before going in

• Before a key play, serve, free throw, pitch

• In the weight room before a heavy set

How to do it:

1. Inhale gently through your nose.

2. Exhale through your mouth with a soft, real sigh.

   • Like you’re letting the day out of your body.

3. Repeat 3–5 times.

You don’t need to make it dramatic.Just honest.

Message to your system:

“We’re allowed to let some of this weight go.We can focus on this moment.”

5.3. Box Breathing: Building Game-Day Composure

Box breathing helps you stay steady instead of swinging between hyped and panicked.

It’s simple:

• Inhale

• Hold

• Exhale

• Hold

All for the same count.

When to use it:

• In the car or bus before games

• In the locker room pre-game

• Night before a big showcase or tryout

• After a big adrenaline spike (huge play, big mistake)

How to do it:

1. Inhale through your nose for (...4...) seconds.

2. Hold your breath for (...4...) seconds.

3. Exhale for (...4...) seconds.

4. Hold with empty lungs for (...4...) seconds.

5. Repeat for 4–6 rounds.

If (...4...) feels like too much, use (...3...).If it feels easy, you can explore (...5...) later.

You’re training your system to:

• Handle pressure

• Stay calm

• Keep your skills online

This is the difference between:

• Knowing what to do,

• and being able to do it when it matters.

6. Train the System, Not Just the Stats

If you only chase:

• Bigger squat

• Faster 40

• More weight on the bar

  
  

…you might get stronger on paper but still:

• Freeze in big moments

• Play scared after injuries

• Burn out physically or mentally

If you train your nervous system too:

• You’ll recover faster

• You’ll feel more confident in your body

• You’ll handle pressure better

• You’ll be more consistent — which coaches love

  
  

College coaches aren’t just recruiting:

• Numbers

• Times

• Heights

They’re recruiting:

• Athletes who compete well under pressure

• Athletes who can bounce back from mistakes

• Athletes who can stay healthy enough to be on the field

That all lives in your nervous system.

7. A Simple Pre-Performance Routine You Can Start Now

Here’s a 3-step nervous system warm-up you can use:

• Before practice

• Before games

• Before lifting

It takes about 3 minutes.

Step 1: Shaking – 45 seconds

• Light bounce in your knees

• Shake out arms, shoulders, hands, jaw

Step 2: 3 Real Sighs

• Inhale through your nose

• Exhale with a soft sigh through your mouth

• Let your shoulders drop a little each time

Step 3: 3 Rounds of Box Breathing

• In (...4...), hold (...4...), out (...4...), hold (...4...)

Then go into your normal warm-up.

After practice, game, or lifting, ask yourself:

• “Did I feel more present?”

• “Did I panic less?”

• “Did my body feel a little more under control?”

If the answer is yes, you just felt what it’s like to train the real muscle behind your performance.

Your muscles matter. Your numbers matter. But your nervous system is the gatekeeper.

It decides:

• How much of your strength you can use

• How fast you can react

• How calm you stay when everything is on the line

If you want to play in college, don’t just build a big body. Build a smart, adaptable, calm system that can handle that level.

The weight room, the field, the court —they’re not just where you train your body.

They’re where you train your signal.

For now: shake a little, sigh a little, breathe a little —and go show your nervous system it’s safe to play big 🌸🏈🏀⚽🏐🏃‍♀️