10 Mental Mistakes Soccer Players Make (and corrections)
- Getting involved in the hype by reading the papers and/or looking up your stats. After your season is over, then you can check this stuff out. During the season, focus on always improving.
- Associating with negative people. They will slow you down and taint your progress during the season. Keep your distance from them. Sometimes negative people are on your own team. In these cases, be the leader and be positive about the situation. Your teammates will look up to you.
- Making any particular game “special.” All competitions and practices are important, but nothing is ever special. Special adds pressure. Treat everything the same to stay consistent. The more you can play soccer like it is just a scrimmage, the better.
- Believing ANY opponent you face is unbeatable. There are countless examples of the underdog succeeding – David and Goliath, The Movie “Miracle”, etc. It’s possible for you too.
- Getting hung up on the past or worrying about the future. Only worry about the present and how you can do your best at this moment. If you are going into half-time down 0-2, it is ok to realize perhaps where the loopholes were in the defense, but do not harp on the fact that you are losing or allowed two scores. Come up with a better defensive strategy and look to attack in the next half!
- Under any circumstances using the word CAN’T. Don’t ever say that word! Neymar said, “The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself.” Do not limit yourself by saying can’t.
- Dwelling on a setback or loss. The best way to get over a loss is to learn from it. Grow from the mistake and use it to your advantage. If your team just lost a game, have a team debriefing session the next day where you can come together and discuss things you as a team could have done better. It will help you figure out where to focus in your practices.
- Focusing exclusively on winning or titles. Also note when you reach new milestones or personal achievements – they are important too! It is so important to recognize small goals along the way to your big goals. Perhaps your team had much better communication in the last game, make sure you are recognizing this job well done as a team, so that you continue to do it. Taking care of the details and doing the small things really well will allow you to play your best soccer.
- Competing not to lose. Not losing shouldn’t be your goal – always play to win and achieve your goals. Even if your team is up, continue to try to put the pressure on the other team. Keep driving down the field and taking shots on the goal. Make your lead in the game as big as you can. If you let up, the other team is likely to take advantage of your lack of focus and capitalize on it.
- Using extreme self-talk that puts extra pressure on you. Don’t use words like “must,” “should,” or “need to.” Instead, say “I want” and “I choose.” For example, if running sprints will make you faster on the field, say “I’m going to run some sprints after practice today!”
- BONUS: Not taking advantage of a Mindset Expert and being totally mentally prepared to achieve your goals.