Regaining Motivation in Soccer
How do you respond after playing a lackluster soccer game?
Can you bounce back after a bland soccer game and push to new performance heights?
Think of a time when you played a so-so game… How did you feel afterwards? Did it motivate you to play harder and look for ways to improve your game?
Unfortunately, a lot of soccer players respond with becoming less motivated…
You start to take a so-so performance as evidence of how you will play the next game…
You may attempt to break out of your funk but you don’t necessarily believe you can play at a higher level at this time…
Your lack of motivation impedes your performance on the field.
Motivation and belief impact each other.
If you believe in your abilities and skills as a soccer player, you will be motivated to look for ways to improve your game.
Motivation helps you leave the last game in the past and helps you focus on expanding your game in the present.
The US soccer team faced challenging odds to merely advance past the Group round and into the knockout rounds of the 2014 World Cup.
While the US soccer team started strong with a victory against Ghana and a tie against Portugal, the Americans produced a lackluster effort in their final Group game against Germany.
The US team allowed Germany to dictate the flow of the game from the first minute…
Germany controlled the ball for the majority of the game while the US team appeared to be anxious and apprehensive…
The US team barely mounted any offensive threat with a total of four shots in the game and only one shot on goal…
The German team continued to press forward and scored ten minutes into the second half to secure a 1-0 victory over the US.
Despite a lackluster performance and loss to Germany, the US soccer team did enough to make it out of their Group and into the round of 16.
The US soccer is highly motivated as they seek to continue to compete on the international stage.
US defender Matt Besler was able to see the positive in the US team’s performance during the Group stage.
BESLER: “We didn’t qualify just because of this game. We qualified because of all three of the games. All three of the games mattered, and we did enough to advance.”
Besler also realizes that the US squad needs to find ways to perform better in order to advance further in this World Cup.
BESLER: “We all understand that we’re gonna have to play better.”
US Coach Jurgen Klinsmann views the Round of 16 as a new beginning and believes his team can raise their level of play.
KLINSMANN: “Once the group is done, another tournament actually starts. The knockout stage is a completely different ballgame.”
Although the US team lost Tuesday in the Knockout round, they played their hearts out…
Try these tips to aid your motivation following a poor performance:
- Focus on the positives in your play. What did you do well? What can you build upon for the next game?
- See each game as a new opportunity. Stay focused on the current game and look for ways to raise your game to the next level.
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