How All-Ireland winner, and former Kerry performance coach, deal with pre-match nerves

All-Ireland winners Paddy Burns and Tony Griffin, the latter a performance coach with Kerry for three years, explain how they have handled pre-match jitters.

"What we can name, we can tame," says former Clare hurler Tony Griffin. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The massive boots of big John Hayes sticking out from under the toilet door during his pre-match vomiting routine. Kieran Donaghy seeking out Sean Boylan the night before the 2016 semi-final for tea and brown bread to ease the mind. Paddy Burns scribbling away in his notebook as Armagh gear up for battle.

In sport, pre-match nerves are a near-universal sensation. Anxiety, after all, is a familiar companion in life. How each player handles it, though, is deeply personal. That approach is shaped by temperament, experience and the weight of expectation.