Overcoming Comfort Zones
Many soccer players and soccer teams we work with hold themselves back with a comfort zone.
What is a comfort zone in soccer?
A comfort zone is a mental barrier that is based on what you (or your team) thinks you are capable of achieving or what you expect to achieve.
Comfort zones become a problem whenever a soccer player or team is playing better than expected or is in uncharted territory when competing.
Comfort zones are usually developed from expectations based on past experience.
For example, a soccer team may believe they can or cannot beat a certain team based on past seasons. One of our tasks as a mental game coach is to teach players and teams how to break free of comfort zones so they do not set limits on their performance.
How Do You Know If a Comfort Zone is Affecting Your Performance?
- You protect a lead based on expectations
- You play defensively after playing offensively
- You suddenly start focusing on not making mistakes
- You lose focus when in the lead
- You start making silly errors that have not been made all day
- You lose confidence when playing better than expected or beyond you perceived ability
A common example in soccer is when you go up two goals on a team you have never beaten. You start to protect the lead and begin to hang back on defense, stop taking risks, and lose offensive momentum. Before you know it, your team is under so much pressure and can quickly lose momentum and the lead.
Our experience is that soccer players with specific performance expectations become tentative and overly focused on results when they are playing beyond these set limits.
The best option is to play in the moment, avoid setting limits on your performance, and continue to press forward when reaching new heights.
If this options fails and you begin to focus on how well you are performing or not losing the lead your team has, you should default to Plan B. Plan B is to accept that you are playing well and ride the wave of momentum.
You need to refocus in order to take your mind off of results and back to what you need to do in the moment to continue to perform.
If you experience comfort zones or other mental barriers to peak performance, contact us today to start your 1 on 1 soccer specific mental game coaching program.
Also, if you haven’t already, download our free ebook titled “7 Costly Mental Game Mistakes that Block Soccer Players’ Success”
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Is The Mental Game the Weakest Link in Soccer?
- Making Performance Breakthroughs In Soccer
- Developing Maximum Composure
- Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
Download a free sports psychology report to improve your mental game!
Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.
Get the Mental Edge – With Mental Training
Do you perform well in practice, but find yourself under-performing in games? Do you doubt your skills and second-guess yourself under pressure? If so, mental training will help you reach your goals in soccer. Many soccer players have the skill but are held back by low confidence and lack of pregame mental preparation!
You can get expert mental coaching with us from anywhere. Meet with us via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or phone call. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
Call Us Today to Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Session.
Find Out How You Can Benefit From One-on-One Mental Coaching!
888-742-7225 | 407-909-1700
It definitely becomes an issue when dealing with a highly competitive team. Players walk onto the field half-defeated because they don’t think they have what it takes to win. Instead of stepping up and making that other team work for it, they accept the lose before it’s even happened!