5 habits of a successful soccer player
Habits create life and freedom. Or they can create exhaustion, turmoil and discontent. We all get to choose which of the paths are ours. A successful soccer player learns life through the sport. I personally have walked [or played – pun intended] on both sides of the discussion. What I learned is that by creating the good habits my mind is then more free to explore improving my game or life as the ‘habit’ [such as good exercise or eating healthy] is performed without conscious thought [translation: without taking additional brain power].
5 habits of a successful soccer player
- Mindset: Self-belief is one of the most powerful aspects of any profession. I found it to be especially powerful when I had to contend not only with my own opinion or those of my family and teammates, but with a city or large group’s opinions.
- Health: When you run every day for your ‘job’ [& yes to college players – this is your JOB ] you may think you are healthy enough. Health is a lifestyle and is comprised of many things, including rest, core strength, proper warm-ups and training on your own. Training on your own also means light jogs to keep your muscles and joints conditioned.
- Nutrition: Nutrition is a popular word and yet many people don’t know what it means for their lifestyle choices. For some in my family, nutrition and its benefits is a career. For others its a lifeline. Many athletes have special dietary considerations beyond the ‘healthy foods’ [e.g., gluten-free eaters]. Nutrition means listening to your body in times of health and sickness for its needs. Eating tips before and after games.
- Consistency: Pushing to be the best and fastest during pre-season and on is typical – and expected – and but does not equate good leadership. Consistency is a concept that must be applied to all areas of your game – on and off the field.
- Continued development [of Skill / Athleticism]: These two traits don’t always go in the same person. Some players are only skillful; others more athletic. Either way your main focus must always be to improve your weaknesses technically. Some people say work on your strengths, and that is true you should. But your man focus should be to improve your weaknesses, like shooting or long passes with your weak foot.
So to create good game habits in these areas, consider the following:
Stay positive & focused
This might mean you must find music or a podcast or a friend that encourages or motivates you. One of the main things I want to make sure my players receive is positive encouragement.
The most important time for me to be like this is when the player make mistakes. When players do something good that feeling alone is strong enough to bring them up. When athletes mess up and have someone telling them “no worries, you’ll get it next time” or showing them what they did wrong it helps them.
Activities that promote psychological and physical health
Yoga is a good example. This exercise allows players to protect their muscles through self-resistance training, stretching and more while focusing on positive things.
Another good sport / activity is swimming, because it’s easy on the joints. You can get big time cardio workout and you can workout in different ways.
I used to and actually still do pool workouts. You can mix it up and do different swimming techniques, but then I will also run and do side to sides and high knee type exercises, all in the water. Being in the pool is great for the mind, because you can think of whatever you need to without ANY distractions.
Listen to your body
Some players perform best on a carb-heavy diet while others need more protein. We all need to eat more clean [by clean I mean less processed, more in a natural state – which I truly don’t always enjoy – my wife calls me the cookie monster for a reason :-)].
The best foods for soccer players are chicken, turkey, pasta, rice, salad, peanut butter, yogurt, protein bars, fruits like bananas, pineapple, carrots.
We all need to find what’s best for our own bodies. If all soccer players were the same the game would be boring in more ways than one.
A successful soccer player is consistent on & off the pitch
People [parents, coaches, teammates, friends] want to know what they can expect from you. Teachers, colleges and recruiters also want to know. What kind of grades do you carry out of season? Do you stay fit year-round? Are you known to act crazy on the field and calm off of it? Have a spirit of excellence at all times and in all you do.
Read how to boost your personal brand as an athlete.
Get extra skills outside of your team
Soccer is a fast and tough game. Of all the players I train who play on the US Youth National Team [Top 24 players in America] they say they don’t improve their technical skills from their team coach. Even though they have the top youth coaches, they will tell you that they improved fastest by working with me [private trainer].
Video below shows 2 college players training with me for the first time when I flew out-of-state to film the online courses. Learn how to fast-track your soccer skills.
A successful soccer player trains even when they don’t want to
The more technical and skilled on the ball, the more control you have over your game. WHY? Because your touch on the ball becomes more like a habit!
This control will free your mind to become more focused on the ‘reading’ and emotion of the game and will give you the competitive advantage.
Remember if you want to be a successful soccer player, you have to train on the days you don’t want to. Everyone will train with the weather is nice. To be disciplined is training when it’s cold, hot or when you don’t have the energy.
Quote of the day
– Frank Outlaw
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