Growing up coaches always told me, "90% of the game is mental." I'm willing to bet you've heard that from a coach or two also. But do you know what it means and how it can help you? I know the coaches that told me the game is 90% mental were well meaning. In fact, they probably even thought they were doing me a favor telling me that. But NEVER did any of the coaches I have support their quote with an explanation that made a difference in my results.
So I thought it would be helpful if I shed some light on how your player can use the mental game to get better results in practice and in their very next game.
Personally, I don't believe you can measure whether the game is 90, 95, or even 99% mental. Maybe I should invent some sort of "mental meter" that measures the percent of the mental game and retire to an island.
But anyway... what I do know is that visualization is a part of the mental game. In fact, it's the most underused portion of the game I see today. Yet, the players that do use some form of visualization (consciously or unconsciously) always tend to be the exceptional players that get the best results on the field.
What I want you to gather from today's newsletter is this... adding 30 seconds of visualization to your practice can help you double your skills.
Let me give you a recent example:
At my last training session, I asked my student what his juggling record was. He told me and I helped him set a goal that was 40% higher than his record. He looked at me and said, "I don't think I can do that many." I reminded him to take a deep breath and then to visualize himself achieving his new juggling goal.
About 30 seconds later he tossed the ball in the air and began. I watched as the ball stayed close to his body and bounced straight up and down time after time. He remained calm and kept his eye focused on the ball.
After about 30 seconds he approached his previous record and easily passed it.
He was counting out loud and I could hear the excitement in his voice as he surpassed his previous record. He lost his focus and the ball fell to the ground.
A huge smile crossed his face. Immediately I suggested he set a new goal. I reminded him to breathe deeply and visualize himself surpassing his old record and achieving the new mark.
30 seconds later he launched the ball in the air and began bouncing the ball off his knee, foot, head, chest, and thigh.
Two minutes later he was again all smiles as he easily set a new personal best.
With the power of visualization and deep breathing I helped my student double his juggling record in about 7 minutes.
Now let's take a look at YOUR soccer player. I'm betting they want to improve. I'm betting there is at least one area of their game that visualization could double their results in.
I'm betting they would be ecstatic to become a better goal scorer because they learned how to visualize themselves as a goal scoring machine.
There is so much growth available to young soccer player who learns how to use visualization and mental pictures.
The results players get are truly amazing.
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