George Kittle Explains How Meditation Helps Him to Manage Anxiety on the Football Field

On Netflix’s hit docu-series, ‘Receiver’, which featured George Kittle, we got a glimpse into how the star tight end gets his nerves under control before any games. Meanwhile, during his appearance on the ‘Hidden Pearls’ podcast, the 49ers star reiterated his approach to filtering out the outside noise.

With the crowd in the backdrop and teammates sweating it out on the sidelines, Kittle finds a “quiet spot” on the bench. It takes just three minutes for the tight end to get into his zone, which includes breathing in positive thoughts, expelling negatives, some visualization work, and affirmations.

As Kittle explained:

“My meditation that I do prior to games and it’s like find a quiet spot on the bench the crowd’s already there we’re warming up and I take like three minutes of just breathing I do some visualization work and then I do some affirmations I talk to myself, breath in confidence exhale fear breath in belief exhale doubt breath in strength exhale weakness.”

Adding context, Kittle revealed that he experienced anxiety throughout his college career, and for a long time, it prevented him from performing at his peak. However, mediation and affirmations helped him ‘calm the noise’ and overcome the issue.

In his college career at Iowa, he remained a relatively unknown player until his final year in the program, when he had a breakout performance that earned the attention of draft scouts. Some even went on to label him one of the top prospects of the year. The rest, as they say, is history. The star tight end has since established himself as one of the most formidable players in his position.

Last season, Kittle was a major part of the 49ers’ campaign to the Super Bowl and gave some of his best performances under pressure to pull the team from difficult situations.

In the divisional round, he scored the team’s opening touchdown in a game against the Packers and finished the season as an All-Pro with 1020 yards and 65 receptions. However, he suffered an injury in the Super Bowl overtime, which limited him to just one catch for three yards.

The Netflix show documented the highs and lows in the lives of the NFL’s biggest offense players, including the 49ers duo of Kittle and Deebo Samuel. The show primarily focused on wide receivers, but Kittle’s all-round performance as a tight end earned him a special spot on the show.