Soccer Teams Excel With Mental Training

Sports Psychology for Soccer Podcast

Welcome to episode 7 of Soccer Psychology Insights. In this episode Jaki Hitzelberger, MA interviews Dr. Alberto Gamarra, sports psychology expert from South Florida. Dr. Gamarra is the owner and founder of Mental Mastery and works with athletes to improve their mental game and performance. Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Gamarra discuss how a mental trainer or sports psychologist can help soccer teams and players improve … [Read more...]

Are YOU Mentally Prepared for Soccer Games?

Mental Preparation for Soccer Players - Soccer Psychology

Do you or your soccer players wait until after the first few plays of the game to feel confident? If you don’t have a great warm up, does this affect your mindset for the game? Do you have doubts or worry about making mistakes and play safe or tentatively? We’re sure you have a physical pregame routine, but do you use this time as a mental warm up too? Shooting on goal, hitting long balls, playing possession, and … [Read more...]

Soccer Goal Setting – Achieve Big Dreams

Soccer Goal Setting - Mental Training

Setting goals are an important part of improving your skills in soccer. It is common that soccer players are great at coming up with long-term goals, though struggle with setting short term goals and creating an action plan. Soccer players we work with at Peak Performance sports initially come in with goals such as “become a starter”, “win State Cup”, “win a National Championship”, or “play … [Read more...]

The Mental Game of Soccer and Comfort Zones

Soccer Confidence - Soccer Psychology

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 … [Read more...]

How To Cope with Losses Without Losing Confidence

Soccer Mental Training

Recovering mentally after a loss is no easy task. Soccer players who are highly competitive and dedicated to their sport often have difficulty moving on after a disappointing defeat. Many of the soccer players we work with at Peak Performance Sports, are too self-critical and lose confidence after losing a close game. Our goal is not to convince you that losing is OK, but rather to help you grow from failure, stay … [Read more...]

Soccer is Not a Game of Perfect

Soccer Sports Psychology

Many soccer players, who are highly motivated, hold themselves back by trying to play perfect soccer. They expect the very best out of their performance all the time, which can be both positive and negative. Some advantages of perfectionism are having a strong work ethic, desire to improve, and commitment to their goals. Clearly we want our soccer players to set challenging goals for themselves, but many athletes who … [Read more...]

Performing Under Pressure in Soccer – Part 1

Crunch Time Player - Soccer Mental Game

Performing under pressure is a quality of great soccer players. Particularly as you move to a higher level in soccer, the ability to compete under pressure will become more and more important. Here is a question a soccer player asked on our Soccer Psychology Survey. “During every game and practice when I am performing under pressure my mind over thinks everything and I tend to mess up on the simplest things. When I … [Read more...]