Performance is an Act and All Soccer Players Need to be Good Performers
Confidence has a real look to it …
SoccerToday’s columnist Dan Abrahams shares his insights and advice for success on the soccer field for players of all ages. A global sport psychologist and author specializing in soccer, Abrahams is based in England and works with professional soccer players in the English Premier League (EPL). Abrahams has helped hundreds of soccer players – many of them who play in the English Premier League (EPL) and others who play across Europe.
Being successful on the soccer field requires confidence.
A recent example of his work includes helping Yannick Bolasie make an enormous impact on the EPL for Crystal Palace. Abrahams has held contracts with QPR, Fulham, and West Ham among other clubs and works quietly, behind the scenes with many coaches from top clubs across Europe.
It’s a new year. New expectations and new goals surround all of us. Let’s make the best of our opportunities.
I remember a while back when I had three new football clients – one of whom is quite famous and plays Premiership football, one of whom is a young player and wants to break into the first team at a League One club in England and the other a veteran who plays amateur soccer in the lower divisions of English football. A spread of age and ability – this is why I love what I do!
Give the performance of your life when you are on the soccer field.
Performance is an Act and one all Soccer Players need to be good at.
Practice, practice, practice your body language.
I tell you this not because I’m trying to impress you, but because I want to impress upon you that similar challenges can be experienced across different levels and across different age groups.
Sometimes different players can be helped through the same prescription. I’m going to describe this prescription for you now. Performance is an act. Yes, it is an act.
And I want my professional soccer players to be great actors and actresses. I want them to win an Oscar for their performance. I want the three players who came to see me this past week to win Golden Globes and Oscars at the Academy Awards.
All three of my soccer players were suffering from a lack of confidence.
There was plenty to talk about! One had been dropped from the team after a series of poor performances. The other looked up to the first team and said to himself “How can I get there…am I really good enough.” And the other couldn’t believe how far he had come and was frighted it was going to end…very soon! Get an image of this in your mind. Make it big and bold and bright.
Sometimes it’s so simple. Sometimes that’s all it takes. But there is a difference between simple and easy.
The idea of confident body language is a simple concept yet isn’t always easy to execute.
It takes self-awareness. It takes practice and patience. It takes determination and dedication.
Practice, practice and practice your body language.
How you hold yourself, how you walk, the actions you take. If you are a coach — practice your body language. If you are a player — practice your body language.
If you concede a goal — practice confident body language. If you’re having a terrible training session — practice your body language.
Dan Abrahams: Practice, practice, practice!
Dan Abrahams is a global sport psychologist specializing in soccer. He is based in England and has some of the leading turn-around stories and case studies in English Premier League history.
Abrahams is sought after by players, coaches and managers across Europe and his 2 soccer psychology books are international bestsellers. He is formerly a professional golfer, is Lead Psychologist for England Golf and he holds a degree in psychology and masters degree in sport psychology.
