Let’s face it that like confidence, self-control in coaching high school soccer is an option that players can choose. In soccer coaching, the connection between emotions and thoughts establishes the self-control strategies. It is a known fact that our emotional state influences our feelings and as a result of it, our performance is strengthened.
You can aid your players in learning the skill and discipline of self-control with the 12 step strategy that I’m going to share with you. Still, it is better that players take up these steps only when they feel that it is going to be of value to them.
What’s more, the players should also be prepared to take full responsibility for the actions they take. These are the 12 steps for your information.
1. Awareness: In coaching youth soccer, lend a helping hand to players in identifying their weak points. Have them analyze where, when, and how they lost control on field during the past.
2. Understanding: Allow the players to make out the reason that affected their thinking in such a way that they lost their emotional stability.
3. Differences: Let the players recall situations in the past when they did and did not lost control. Have them decide the differences in their attitudes, behaviors, and emotions.
4. Problem: When coaching high school soccer, attempt to pinpoint the problem. For example: The player may be feeling guilty that he let the entire team down due to his actions.
5. Belief: The players should be taught to raise their expectations for themselves with self-control as one of the traits. Support them so they can change.
6. Reinforcement: Behavior change is accelerated by reinforcement. Being a coach, you need to appreciate the good changes in the players to ensure that these remain forever.
7. Goals: Start with multiple smaller goals, so that you can take your players along the path to changes. Help the players understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
8. Techniques: Set up multiple performance based methods to boost the confidence level. For example: If a certain situation happens, this is the course that players must follow.
9. Plan: In football coaching, teach a planned and systematic way of chasing the goals to players.
10. Progress: Teach them how to be patent. Help the players realize the value of ups and downs in the path to improvement.
11. Setbacks: Help the players in accepting the setbacks, as these will continue to happen. So, the better is to use these to learn new ways to tackle these.
12. Remembrance: Last but by no means the least, make the players understand that they are trying to change for a reason. They must understand the importance of what they are doing. What would the change mean to them for their future?
We all now that a soccer player who can act speedily with comfort is in a perfect performance state. It means possessing energy without tension.
This should not be taken lightly. 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.