| | Most soccer coaching courses and coaching literature generally describe the game in terms of four main components: Fitness, Technique, Tactics, and Psychology. Indeed, coaches can quickly assess the strengths and weaknesses of their teams by rating each player relative to each of these components. However, my experience as both a clinician and a course participant over the years has led me to realize that we spend far too little time studying the psychological pillar in our coaching education programs. It has long been accepted that "without technique, there can be no tactics". Tactics and technique both break down rapidly when fatigue sets in and fitness begins to fail. Psychology, though, is the foundation upon which the other three components rest. When a player's mentality breaks down, nothing else works, so it only makes sense for coaches to address the psychological dimension of the game first! To get a better understanding of how to coach the psychological aspects of soccer, we must first analyze the discrete parts that make up this component of the game. There are many good ways to approach this, but the following six elements should provide a fairly complete picture for us to use in our discussion: - Confidence. Perhaps more than anything else, players must have significant self-confidence to succeed on the field. This includes a belief in one's own abilities (physical and technical) as well as a clear understanding of the role he fills within the team (tactically). Confidence also has an external element, as players must perceive their teammates to be reliable and capable if they are to function together as a team.
- Spirit. A player's spirit will be exhibited in several ways. Does he have a positive attitude, in which optimism prevails over negativity? Is he competitive? Does he consistently give maximum effort, or is he content to "go through the motions" and "cut corners"? Spirit is generally contagious within a team. One lazy and negative player can drain the enthusiasm out of all the others, while a hard-working and encouraging player can drive his teammates to achieve more than they thought possible.
- Composure. The game places players in a wide variety of pressure situations, such as 1v1 confrontations along the wings, aerial battles for the ball, and half-chances to score inside a crowded goal area. Players must learn to control the anxiety they feel in these situations so they can focus on solving the immediate challenge before them. When composure breaks down, negative outcomes occur, including rushed decision-making, technical errors, and reckless fouls.
- Discipline. In a team sport, discipline must exist in both extrinsic and intrinsic forms. The Laws of the Game and the "Spirit of the Game" dictate a certain set of boundaries; referees, coaches, and other players reinforce them from an external perspective. More important, though, is the development of discipline within each player. Self-discipline is what drives a player to work hard all the time, on his own, and it is the force that keeps a player on-track for success when negative influences arise that would otherwise derail him.
- Cohesion. Great teams are much more than just a collection of talented individuals. Competitive success in soccer requires a high degree of teamwork, which is driven by more than a basic understanding of each player's abilities. Do your players support each other, both on and off the field? Do they trust each other? Are they willing to make personal sacrifices to benefit the team as a whole? "Selfishness" has a definite role to play in a tactical sense; talented players should seek the ball as much as possible in games, and we want players to take individual responsibility to score when they can. From a psychological perspective, though, selfishness can be the fastest path to ruin for an otherwise talented team.
- Creativity. Perhaps the most difficult trait to teach, creativity is a vital ingredient for success at the higher levels of the game. In a sense, creativity is simply the process of trying many different things, and then rejecting everything that didn't work in favor of those ideas that did. To cultivate this aspect of their personalities, players must have the freedom to experiment (and, more importantly, the freedom to fail).
Once you understand the specific psychological factors you are trying to influence, you then need to find ways in which you can help your players improve their "mental conditioning". This is the same approach we take as coaches for the other three components of the game. If you notice a failure in a player's physical conditioning, then you'll create training exercises that will address these issues. When a player needs to improve his first touch, we have hundreds of activities available that will give him the technical repetitions he needs. Of course, coaches love to attack tactical problems using everything from marker boards to shadow training to phase-of-play practices. Somehow, though, many coaches are willing to allow psychological issues to persist, and thus make no effort to "train" their players on how to have a better mentality for the game! Sports psychologists have developed many useful tools, but I have found the following methods to be highly effective and easy to implement at all levels of the game: - Training. Players gain confidence primarily through training. This may seem obvious, yet I remain shocked at how many coaches, players, and parents value training so little when compared with scrimmages, games, and tournaments. Although coaches can help players by offering encouragement and support, they cannot give players confidence (at least, not in any significant sense). Instead, confidence must be developed by each player for himself. When a player encounters a situation in a game that closely matches something that player previously rehearsed in practice, then he will have greater confidence in his understanding of the situation and his ability to act correctly. Further, when players know that they have made significant "investments in themselves" through hard work over long periods of time, they gain a form of self-confidence that can't be taken away by criticism from others or from a string of losses in games. These players are better able to overcome adversity, and thus better prepared to succeed in competition over the long term.
- Goal-setting. When players take the time to establish and write down personal goals, they have taken a key step already toward greater achievement. The most useful goals will meet five key criteria; they will be specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, and timely. Of course, just setting goals isn't enough! Players must be driven by the exercise to engage in behaviors that will allow them to achieve the goals they have established for themselves. For this reason, action-oriented goals (that focus on actions to be taken by each player) provide the greatest benefit, and should outnumber outcome-oriented goals (that focus on results like wins, championships, and individual honors) by at least a factor of 4:1 in your goal-setting process.
- Self-talk. The player who says "I can't", generally "won't"! As a coach, you should frame your instructions in the positive ("Be patient!") rather than in the negative ("Don't dive in!"). This will help condition your players to think in terms of what you want them to do, and not clutter their thinking by behaviors you want them to avoid. Listen for "negative voices" when you talk with your players, and challenge them to rephrase their statements of self-doubt ("I can't") with positive, forward-looking expressions ("I will").
- Imagery. Traditionally, imagery techniques asked players to visualize themselves in various situations as a form of "mental rehearsal". The underlying principle supporting this technique is best expressed as "the body cannot do what the mind cannot imagine". However, the widespread availability of video (from cell phones, portable cameras, or even clips found online) provides another option. If players are reluctant to embrace traditional imagery methods, you can have them compile short video clips of themselves that highlight some of their best moments, and then watch these videos before each game. Even if you don't have access to video of your specific players, you can support their visualization efforts simply by having them watch video clips of professional players they want to emulate.
- Leadership Development. Strong teams require strong leaders, but leadership should not be a title that is conferred on just a few. Clearly, some players will have greater responsibility for leadership because of who they are--seniors on a high school or college team, veterans on a professional team, or simply the player selected to be team captain. Further, today's "follower" may need to be tomorrow's "leader"! You can help develop situational leadership skills through many small acts. For instance, delegate some duties to players who aren't in formal leadership positions (such as organizing players to put up and take down goal nets, or planning the next team social gathering). Similarly, you can periodically place a player in charge of leading a training activity in your practice, which will challenge him to take greater ownership over the game and his role within it.
- Team-building. If cohesion is lacking within your team, you may be well-advised to forego a practice and engage in a team-building session instead. There are countless proven activities available to choose from, but the purpose should be to reinforce the commitment of your players to each other and to shared team goals. Done properly, your team-building efforts will reinforce interpersonal relationships and help bond a team more closely together.
- Empowerment. Teach your players to focus on those things that they can influence or control themselves. For example, a player can always control his attitude and his work rate. Conversely, he can't control field conditions or the referee, so any energy spent worrying about those factors is wasted and creates a false sense of helplessness among the team. Further, if you routinely engage your players in team decisions, you will create a culture of shared ownership that can greatly increase the commitment of your players to the team. Finally, empowerment requires that you provide your players with the freedom to experiment and fail. If you give them an "emotional safety net" and reward positive efforts (distinct from outcomes), then you'll foster creative growth among all your players and allow them to feel a greater sense of responsibility for the welfare of the team.
As you can see, coaches can do a great deal to improve the psychological component of the game within their teams. We would all love to have a dedicated sport psychologist working with our players, but the reality is that very few of us will ever be in that situation. The game involves all four components, which means that coaches must address all four components on a regular basis to get the most from their players. As a coach, you will impact the mentality of your players every time you interact with them. If you are mindful of their needs and the tools available to you, you can help them improve their performances greatly by improving their mentality first. On the other hand, if you are careless with your methods and messages, you can seriously diminish the mentality of your players, and poor performances will surely follow. Robert Parr |
