Performing With Trust in Soccer
Do you or your soccer players need to “get out of your own way” when competing?
You might be thinking: “What does it mean to get out of your own way?”
When an athlete is unable to get out of his own way, the mind is interfering with his physical talent.
In a general sense, your mind sabotages your physical skills.
The mental game is misfiring.
But another specific definition is also appropriate when discussing getting out of your own way…
Most of the time, soccer players who can’t “get out of your own way” try way too hard, force their game, think too much, or over-analyze.
For example, if you second-guess whether to pass the ball or shoot or if you force a through ball that isn’t on.
How To Perform With Trust
We’ve conducted a massive amount of research with soccer players on performing in the zone. These athletes talk about how they were able to perform without the mental handcuffs of over analysis…
Many athletes described an experience in which they felt like observers (of their own performance) allowing their performance to just happen. As if they were performing on autopilot.
Thus if you over think or over analyze your game, try to force it on every play or shot, and don’t trust your performance, you are guilty of getting in your own way.
Getting Out of Your Own Way
When you get out of your own way, you allow yourself to play freely without added pressure. You allow yourself to just do it and trust in your skills.
To help our athletes get out of their own way, we created “Soccer Confidence” CD and Workbook Program, which is our first soccer specific program.
“Soccer Confidence” gives players and coaches the strategies they need to perform with confidence and composure, especially perfectionist athletes who want to over-control and over think their performance:
Soccer Confidence: Mental Toughness Strategies for A Competitive Edge
Four Tips To Get Out of Your Own Way
1. Simplify Your Performance. Don’t over think your performance. Avoid filling your mind with too much information at once. Your mind can only process one thought at a time. Don’t over coach yourself, or try to do everything your coach or instructor told you in competition. Use only a few thoughts to help you perform such as “get open for the ball”, “play simple”, or “attack with speed.”
2. Trust your practice. The purpose of practice is to learn the skills and strategies to perform in competition. The purpose of competition is to let yourself play. Let go of the “how tos” (your technique or mechanics) and allow yourself to let it happen. So instead of telling yourself to get your toe down, head down, and follow through on shots, simply focus on getting the shot low and to the corners.
3. Go with the flow and don’t over-analyze your performance. Over analyzing your performance only makes matters worse. Be flexible with the situations that might happen during a game. Accept the fact that you will make mistakes. Remember that how you react to the mistake is most important.
4. Focus in the moment instead of the results. A focus on results does not let you play in the moment. Think more about how you can make an impact one play at a time.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Helping Soccer Players Trust In Their Skills
- How Good Soccer Players Become Great Soccer Players
- Peak Mental Conditioning for Soccer
- Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on iTunes
- Subscribe to The Sports Psychology Podcast on Spotify
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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!
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