Youth and Professional Soccer Players Beware — Soccer is a Game
A sports psychologist and author of best-selling books on soccer, Dan 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.
The Simple Truth — Youth and Professional Soccer Players Make Mistakes
As someone who gets to watch some of the best soccer players compete week in, week out in the EPL there’s something that grabs my attention that supporters, and aspiring players, rarely notice. This thing, sometimes really obvious, and at other times almost invisible to everyone but the expert, is a real determinant of progression in the game. It’s also a serious determinant of consistency.
This thing, this fact … is this!
The best soccer players in the world make mistakes all the time but they respond positively just about every time.
It might not be so startling, but it’s true. The very best players make countless mistakes. Now these mistakes might not be so obvious.
It might be related to positioning. Or it might be something they didn’t do that the manager asked them to do. It might be related to focus…perhaps they switched off for a second and let the striker get in front of them and score.
Or maybe it’s more obvious like a poor pass that’s led to a goal against or a lost header that eventually crashes into the net … a goal for the opposition.
The reality – mistakes happen all the time. Goals are scored more through mistake than through great play. Even…at…the…very…top…level.
Consider that for a few seconds. Consider that the best players, the ones with jets in their feet, the ones with hot feet that dance around the opposition, the ones who dominate the challenge and command the back line. They make mistakes…time and again.
But here’s one of the secrets as to why they’re so successful in the game.
Most of them get on with the game. They are very quick to adjust. They clear their mind quickly and think about the next play, the next move, the next bit of action that is meaningful to them.
That is what champions do. That is what you should do. And when you do you’ll notice that your mistakes will reduce. Why? Because you’re no longer pre-occupied with them. Because you no longer run onto the pitch worried about where you’ll make them or where it might go wrong for you.
So the next time you go play, do so with these next few sentences emblazoned on your mind: “I may make some mistakes but that’s ok. That’s acceptable.
Even the best players make mistakes.
But I’m going to respond to those mistakes…I’m going to respond positively. I’m going to talk to myself positively.
I’m going to keep outstanding body language. I’m going to keep playing and playing until the final whistle…no matter what”
