Mental Toughness and Resiliency
Tough times will hit at some time during your soccer career. If you are not mentally prepared to meet these challenges head on, your confidence will be at risk.
Many soccer players are not mentally prepared to deal with negative events that might strike throughout their career. These challenges are bigger than just a mistake on the field or a bad game.
There are challenges that have the potential to hurt your confidence, leave you feeling hopeless and cause you to question your role in sports.
A few profound challenges may include:
Serious injury – A ruptured tendon, concussion, torn ligament or other serious injury can feel insurmountable. Worries about the length of recovery or potential re-injury can consume a player, hurt their confidence and become a significant obstacle to overcome.
Reduced playing time – Being removed from the starting lineup for a prolonged period of time is a common challenge that faces many players.
This type of challenge can have such an adverse affect on a player’s confidence that they mentally “give up” and cease working hard to develop their skills, conditioning and work ethic.
With this type of reduced physical and mental effort, it is almost impossible to regain playing time, further reducing confidence.
Not being selected – Not being selected for a team can be one of the hardest challenges for a player to face. Many players take this as an indictment of their ability as a player.
The thought process is, “If I am not good enough to make this team, then I must not be a good player at all.”
This mentality can crush a player’s confidence without even taking into consideration the coach’s reason for not making the team such as, the style of play the coach has chosen, the number of players battling for that position or even the potential bias of the coach.
Lack of production – Not repeating personal statistics from the past can be perceived by some players as evidence of declining skills or a lack of potential.
This type of false evidence can be a significant blow to a player’s confidence even though the reason may be a role change or a new system implemented by the coach.
If you are not mentally prepared, these challenges can both destroy your confidence and prevent you from reaching your potential as a soccer player.
Mentally prepared for significant challenges is what helped USWNT right back Ali Krieger keep her confidence high and helped her to make the 2019 World Cup team for the US.
Krieger helped the US win the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, starting every game and playing all but 10 minutes of the tournament. Surprisingly, Krieger was left off the USWNT from August 2017 through March 2019 after appearing in 98 games for the National team.
During that two-year layoff from the USWNT, it would have been easy for Krieger to doubt her abilities or question if she was too old to compete on the international stage.
Instead, Krieger stayed positive, worked hard and was rewarded by being selected as a member of the 2019 US World Cup squad at the age of 34.
Krieger was confident throughout her challenging two years hiatus from the USWNT.
KRIEGER: “I know how good I am, and I know my value, and I don’t think anyone’s going to tell me what my value is, because I already know that. I think I just needed to keep that in mind, keep training to my ability because no matter what, I’m always going to be who I am both on and off the field.”
“And that’s always taking the high road and busting my [butt] every single day. I had a very good season in the NWSL and felt very confident. I hired coaches in the off-season… and I really went every single day – and not many people saw, except the closest ones to me – and got up every single day and trained my [butt] off. Just wanted to stay ready.”
For Krieger, it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ she was going to play on the USWNT but ‘when’ she was going to play for the National team again. That self-confidence helped Krieger push every day in practice, training and during games and it paid huge dividends in the end.
With high confidence, you reap rewards and will be mentally prepared to work through whatever challenges you face in your soccer career.
Maintaining Confidence during Tough Times:
Know your strengths – Having confidence is a matter of knowing your positive strengths, abilities and what you can become through hard work.
Use a notebook dedicated towards listing personal strengths, abilities and past successes.
Avoid living in the past and dwelling on past failures. Focus on what you have to do to improve for the future.
Be mindful of the subtle ways you might question you ability or doubt your skills and be ready to challenge your own doubts. No one knows you are doubting but yourself!
Discover Mental Game Secrets to Soccer Confidence!
Does your confidence seem to disappear when you go from practice to games?
Do you get nervous and anxious in big games or when under a ton of pressure?
Do you get so frustrated after making a bad pass that your confidence sinks?
If you are ready to improve your mental toughens and perform with ultimate self-confidence in games, check out our program:
Soccer Confidence: Mental Toughness Strategies For a Competitive Edge
Learn proven strategies to improve focus, composure and confidence so you can perform at your peak in games!
- Players: Get the mental edge by learning how to take control of your confidence, mentally prepare for games and perform with composure under pressure.
- Trainers: Learn how to give your students the mental game advantage.
- Coaches: Boost your team’s confidence using simple proven mental strategies.
- Parents: Help boost your soccer player’s confidence. Don’t let their mind hold them back any longer.
Learn the top eight mental game lessons for soccer players to boost your mental game and improve consistency. You’ll learn how to mentally prepare for games to performing under pressure to building unstoppable confidence!
Soccer Confidence: Mental Toughness Strategies For a Competitive Edge
What are our mental game program customers saying?
With the mental tools my soccer mental training program has given me, I can say with full confidence I am on my way of signing a better professional contract.”
~ Lucas Gonzales, Professional Soccer Player in Australia
“My son Alex recently completed your Soccer Mental Training program. I can tell you that he has improved his overall confidence and positive approach before, during, and after games. His stress level regardless of the situation is consistently at a positive and healthy level.”
~Luis Quinones, Soccer Parent
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
If you’re a top performer during practice but find yourself under-performing in competition, the most likely culprit holding you back is your mental game. In fact, many athletes struggle with the same problem….
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.
Meet with us via Skype, phone, FaceTime, or GoTo Meeting. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
Mental toughness coaching helps serious athletes like you to uncover the beliefs and attitudes that keep you from performing to your potential. You’ll learn mental game strategies to perform at your peak more often, overcoming performance plateaus and lack of consistency
Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our mental coaching students saying?
“Michelle had the best weekend of soccer she has ever played. I’m not just saying this because you have been working with her (I promise!). She was relaxed, did not get frustrated with herself or teammates, never once ‘shut down’ and actually smiled a couple of times. Numerous parents noticed a difference in her composure and attitude. A college coach sent an email last night expressing interest–commenting on her level of play during the weekend. Thanks again for EVERYTHING…Michelle is in a very good place right now!”*
~Diana, Michelle’s Mother
“Adam is truly one of your success stories. We purchased the CD program for him last year around this time. He is a soccer goalie and needed more confidence. The change was dramatic and he still goes through the exercises before a big game.”
~Stella Prevost
Disclaimer
*Testimonials found on this site are examples of what we have done for other clients, and what some of our clients have said about us. However, we cannot guarantee the results in any case. Your results may vary and every situation is different. No compensation was provided for these testimonials.
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