In coaching high school soccer, it’s a fact that similar to confidence; self-control too is a choice players need to make. In soccer coaching, the connection between emotions and thoughts establishes the self-control strategies. All of us know our mental state influences our passions that accordingly enhance our performance.
I’ll share with you a 12 step strategy to help players learn the ability and discipline of self-control. However, players should adopt this strategy only when they are certain of its utility for them.
Besides this, they must also assume total responsibility for their actions. The strategy has been given below in 12 steps for your reference.
1. Awareness: In coaching youth soccer, lend a helping hand to players in identifying their weak points. Let them examine when, where, and why loss of control has occurred previously on field.
2. Understanding: Help the players acknowledge the feeling that changed their thinking and caused them to lose their emotional steadiness.
3. Differences: Allow them to go back in time and recall situations where they did not lose control and where they did. And then they should determine the difference in their emotions, attitudes, and behavior.
4. Problem: When it comes to coaching high school soccer, try to point out the real problem. For example: The player may be feeling guilty that he let the entire team down due to his actions.
5. Belief: Teach the players to raise their expectations for their own selves with self-control as one of the qualities. Give confidence to players to change themselves.
6. Reinforcement: A change in behavior is promoted by reinforcement. So, as a coach, you must reward improved behavior of players on their way to permanent change.
7. Goals: To guide the players through skill upgradation process, set a series of small goals for them. Help the players understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
8. Techniques: Build a series of behavioral techniques for maintaining confidence. For example: Players must know which path to follow in a certain situation.
9. Plan: In football coaching, teach a planned and systematic way of chasing the goals to players.
10. Progress: Help them being patient. Help the players realize the value of ups and downs in the path to improvement.
11. Setbacks: Teach the players on how to live with the setbacks that are unavoidable. Thus, utilize these to learn new things for improvement.
12. Remembrance: Last but by no means the least, make the players understand that they are trying to change for a reason. They should always bear in mind why they’re doing this. What will their future be like, if they don’t change.
We all now that a soccer player who can act speedily with comfort is in a perfect performance state. It signifies the ability to use energy without any fear.
Make no mistake about it. You must include relaxation techniques in coaching high school soccer and train the players on how to control the thought process so that they can keep themselves stress-free.
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Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Practice Drills.
Tags: Coaching high school soccer, coaching youth soccer, football coaching, soccer coaching