Habits create life and freedom. Or they can create exhaustion, turmoil and discontent. We all get to choose which of the paths are ours. A successful soccer player learns life through the sport. What I have learned is that by creating the good habits my mind is then more free to explore improving my game or life as the ‘habit’ [such as good exercise or eating healthy] is performed without conscious thought.
5 habits of a successful soccer player
- Mindset: Believing in your God-given abilities is crucial. Knowing that every day isn’t going to be fun is also key. Remember to be patient and take one day at a time.
- Health: [Nutrition and fitness] It’s a lifestyle and consists of many things, including rest, proper warm-ups and strength training on your own. Including light jogs to keep your muscles and joints conditioned. Nutrition is a popular word and yet many people don’t know what it means for their lifestyle choices. To perform better try these Eating tips before and after games.
- Putting the team first: Being a good teammate means doing the work you need to be your best. Attitude and performance wise. Do your best because hard work is contagious.
- Ability to take criticism: Pro players are the best at this. Just watch when the coach yells at them… They look at the coach in the eyes and show respect and honor. It takes maturity to do this. Even though it’s hard to hear, you need to love correction and discipline.
- Continued development [of skill / athleticism]: These two traits don’t always go in the same person. Some players are only skillful; others more athletic. Either way your main focus must always be to improve your weaknesses technically. Some people say work on your strengths, and that is true you should. Although, your main focus should be to improve weaknesses, like striking with your weak foot.
To create good game habits in these areas, consider the following:
Stay positive & focused
This might mean you must find music or a podcast or a friend that encourages or motivates you.
One of the main things I want to make sure my players receive is positive encouragement.
The most important time for me to be like this is when the player make mistakes.
When you do something good that feeling alone is strong enough to bring them up.
Athletes mess up, therefore having someone telling them “no worries, you’ll get it next time” or showing them what they did wrong helps.
Activities that promote psychological and physical health
Purposeful stretching exercises and slow breathing is a good example. It allows players to protect their muscles through self-resistance training, while focusing on positive things.
Another good sport / activity is swimming, because it’s easy on the joints. You can get big time cardio workout and you can workout in different ways.
I used to and actually still do pool workouts.
In the water you can mix it up and do different swimming techniques. In the shallow end do things like running, side to sides and high knees.
Being in the pool is great for the mind, because you can think of whatever you need to without ANY distractions.
Listen to your body
Some players perform best on a carb-heavy diet while others need more protein.
We all need to eat more clean [by clean I mean less processed, more in a natural state – which I truly don’t always enjoy – my wife calls me the cookie monster for a reason :-)].
The best foods for soccer players are chicken, turkey, pasta, rice, salad, peanut butter, yogurt, protein bars, fruits like bananas, pineapple, carrots.
We all need to find what’s best for our own bodies. If all soccer players were the same the game would be boring in more ways than one.
A successful soccer player is consistent on & off the pitch
People [parents, coaches, teammates, friends] want to know what they can expect from you…
In addition, teachers, universities and recruiters also want to know.
What kind of grades do you carry out of season?
Do you stay fit year-round?
Are you known to act crazy on the field and calm off of it?
Have a spirit of excellence at all times and in all you do.
Read how to boost your personal brand as an athlete.
Get extra skills outside of your team
Soccer is a fast and tough game…
Of all the players I train who play on the US Youth National Team [Top 24 players in America] they say they don’t improve their technical skills from their team coach.
Even though they have the top youth coaches, they will tell you that they improved fastest by working with me [private trainer].
The video below shows 2 college players training with me for the first time when I flew out-of-state to film the online courses.
Learn how to fast-track your soccer skills.
A successful soccer player trains even when they don’t want to
The more technical and skilled on the ball, the more control you have over your game.
WHY?
Because your touch on the ball becomes more like a habit!
This control will free your mind to become more focused on the ‘reading’ and emotion of the game and will give you the competitive advantage.
Remember if you want to be a successful soccer player, you have to train on the days you don’t want to. Everyone will train with the weather is nice.
To be disciplined is training when it’s cold, hot or when you don’t have the energy.
Quote of the day
“Watch your thoughts, they become words, watch your words, they become actions, watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character, watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
– Frank Outlaw
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