When it comes to coaching high school soccer, we must accept the fact that self-control is a choice just like confidence that players must make. Self-control strategies in soccer coaching depend upon the relationship between emotions and thoughts. 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. But make sure that your player’s only take these steps when they are sure of its value to 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: When coaching youth soccer, help players identify their weak points. Let them examine when, where, and why loss of control has occurred previously on field.
2. Understanding: Make the players realize why their thinking changed and how it caused them to lose their emotional balance.
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: In coaching high school soccer, try to find out the exact problem. For example: Is it the guilt of letting the whole team down because of their performance?
5. Belief: Teach the players to raise their expectations for their own selves with self-control as one of the qualities. Encourage them to change.
6. Reinforcement: Reinforcement encourages a change in behavior. To make the improved skills of players as their permanent skills, you, being a coach, must reward them.
7. Goals: Start with multiple smaller goals, so that you can take your players along the path to changes. Assist the players in identifying the relationship between opinions, outlook, and actions.
8. Techniques: Put together different behavioral action items to uphold the confidence level. For example: Course of action must be clear in the minds of players when a certain situation arises.
9. Plan: In football coaching, help the players in learning an organized and efficient way to pursue their goals.
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: Let the players understand that setbacks are there to stay. 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 be clear about what are they doing and why. What would be there in future for them, if they don’t try?
For a soccer player to achieve a perfect performance state, the player must be trained for relaxed swiftness. This simply means use of full energy without stress.
Make no mistake about it. To teach the players in channelizing their energy in way that they are able to produce emotions to help them get rid of tension, include relaxation techniques in coaching high school soccer.
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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.