One of my favorite television shows is Necessary Roughness, a TV series that follows a therapist who helps athletes overcome the mental obstacles blocking them from performing like superstars.
The TV series highlights the importance confidence has in being successful in sports. Sports psychologists will tell you that 10% of the game is physical. It is the mental 90% that truly makes the difference in achieving success.
Therefore, you can only imagine how feelings of disappointment, shouts of “unlucky” after goal attempts and a pressure to win can take a toll on a player’s execution.
All athletes at some point face a question of confidence in their abilities. However, athletes that are successful have developed mechanisms to deal with confidence issues.
I want to share with you three confidence building exercises that I use to tackle this problem. These include three quick and easy drills to tally achievements, visualize best game responses and use optimistic self-talk. I created these drills after observing the performance of Brazilian players who exhibited a sense of confidence that far exceeded their skill set. As a result of their confidence, their play on the field reflected (exceed their abilities).
To strengthen the self-belief in your players, I would like to encourage coaches to test out these exercises.
Track the Ball: For each season, I write down my soccer goals, and I jot down every small accomplishment that I achieve towards these aims. It helps me to keep my progress in perspective and motivates me to focus on my target.
Picture the Goal: From creating collages of great players and energetic moves to daydreaming about making amazing crosses, finishing goals and dribbling past opponents, I spend time imagining my actions on the field.
Announce the Win: Every player engages in their own mental conversation. What are your players saying to themselves before, during and after the game? It is common for me to speak winning the ball in my mind before the ball arrives in my area or a phrase of supportive encouragement if I make an error. Since incorporating this positive dialogue, it has become easier for me to brush off missteps and become a magnet for being in the right place at the right time to score goals.
I can tell you firsthand that enhancing the confidence of your athletes will yield more than great field play and team victories. You will have equipped these players with tools to help them to record, dream and speak their way to achieving goals in other areas of their lives.
- Qiana Martin
Qiana Martin is an international athlete, global soccer ambassador, Fila Body Toning Spokesmodel and owner of Eat Soccer. Her for-profit and non-profit efforts introduce new communities to, and inspire participants of, the beautiful game. Most recently, Qiana released her Soccer Mental 90 and Soccer Mission: View the Match downloads on iTunes. To learn more about Qiana’s work on and off the field, connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.