Like any other sport, in coaching high school soccer too, confidence is the prerequisite that each players need to discover and instill in him or herself to get successful. Often when you say that the players have to play under pressure in a game, it indicates your player’s lack of confidence to handle any situation. I say this because only confident players expect to win and get successful.
Confidence is a choice and your players have to first choose to become confident. Explain this point in coaching youth soccer by telling them the conduct to two parrots sitting on both shoulders.
Out of the two, one has a positive behavior and he keeps telling the player to face the challenges head on by saying “You can do it.” Then there is the other parrot who is full of negativity and keeps telling the player “You can’t do this.” Without a doubt, it’s the player who has to choose which parrot to take note of.
Also teach them to take full responsibility of the consequences that follow their choice. And this may be an everyday decision. Develop successful players in your team by helping them build strong inner confidence by focusing on their contribution to success or failure.
Train the players of the fact that in soccer coaching that putting the blame on something or someone else is a mark of insecurity. In fact they should be taught to see setbacks as a part of the learning curve and not let it shake their confidence.
When coaching high school soccer, condition the players to see every lost opportunity as a lesson and they should keep telling themselves “I’ll get the next one.”
Thus, confidence for the next strike is remains unaffected because of the distress of the miss.
Accurate and quick judgments regarding a player’s caliber and talent is a key to manage a successful team. While football coaching, it is relatively easier to judge physical readiness than judging mental readiness.
To facilitate this type of judgment, look for clear messages. Look for both verbal and non verbal messages that the player is sure of his or her ability to succeed in the game.
Confidence is the fruit of success. Self-belief, hard work done and the mental preparation to face tough situations, hold the key to success in soccer. “If you are not preparing to win, you are preparing to fail” is a phrase often used to motivate players.
Confidence is built on experience. The reservations, mistakes, losses and denunciation should be taken up calmly by the players so that their underpinning of experience can be built. It is the feeling that he or she has the knowledge, has been there before, and knows what to look forward to.
Never doubt it. In coaching high school soccer, constructing confidence is a daily task and hence, players should intimate on the key steps to find out their positives.
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Tags: Coaching high school soccer, coaching youth soccer, football coaching, soccer coaching