Ten minutes in and you are a different player to the one that kicked off. You have seen, you have heard and you have felt. You have seen wave after wave of attack against you or for you. You have heard the crowd or the voice of the opposition. You have felt the pain as a goal has gone in against or the joy as your team mate slots one in the back of the net. You see, you have changed – your perception is constantly evolving as you play. Here’s what to do about it.
You can’t help it, it’s natural. It happens to you everyday. It happens in every training session. It happens, by and large, without you realising it’s happening. It happens to the opposition. It happens to your team mates. It happens to whoever is watching. It happens sometimes subtly, whilst sometimes the shift is strong.
As time ticks by so the perception you have of the game changes. Depending on what is happening your perception will change accordingly. A goal goes in, your perception changes. You let a striker get in front of you, your perception changes. The coach gives you a new instruction from the sidelines, your perception changes.
A key to consistent high performance is to deal with your changing perception as the game evolves. Here are some ways to do this. Here is some great football psychology for you:
Keep a Great Body
No matter what you are going to keep incredible body language. No matter what. A goal goes in against, keep great body language. You give the ball away, great body language. You make a mistake, great body language. Nothing and no one takes you away from great body language. That is your commitment to your football psychology.
Keep a Great Inner MP3
No matter what you are going to talk to yourself confidently. No matter what. A goal goes in against, keep confident self talk. You give the ball away, great confident self talk. You make a mistake, keep confident self talk. Nothing and no one takes you away from confident self talk. That is your commitment to your football psychology.
Support Others
No matter what you are going to talk to vocalise your support for others. No matter what. A goal goes in against, vocalise support for others. You give the ball away, vocalise support for others. You make a mistake, vocalise support for others. Nothing and no one takes you away from vocalising support for others. That is your commitment to your football psychology.
Focus on your Responsibilities
No matter what you are going to focus on your responsibilities. No matter what. A goal goes in against, focus on your responsibilities. You give the ball away, focus on your Responsibilities. You make a mistake, focus on your responsibilities. Nothing and no one takes you away from focusing on your responsibilities. That is your commitment to your football psychology.
It’s Repetition
You see, you may feel this blog entry is slightly repetitive. But that is what excellence demands. It demands doing the same outstanding things time and again no matter what. That is how you manage your evolving perception. That is what champions do, and champions in soccer have incredible football psychology.
