Traits of Proper mindset

Traits of Proper mindset

Passion and love for the sport

The most important trait that a footballer must have to achieve success in football is a burning passion and love for the sport. In order to achieve success, footballers put in incomprehensible hours of practice, and once they achieve success, they continue to do so. These hours not only include time on the pitch but also time spent watching football matches, analyzing them, reflecting upon a player’s own performance on the pitch, etc. To achieve success in football, one must eat, sleep, and breathe football.

Composure and mental strength

Passion and love for the sport is often accompanied by extreme competitiveness. Those who LOVE their sport LOVE to win. This competitiveness is certainly crucial to achieving success in football, but it should also be accompanied by composure and mental strength. Composure and mental strength can help a player to:

Perform well under pressure – When time is running out, players often begin to play frantically. Composure helps a player to make rational decisions even in the last minutes of the match. Composure is also important in crucial game situations such as penalty kicks or even breakaways.

Accept defeat – Mental strength is important for a player to be able to accept defeat and continue to train and play with a clear mind, empty of regret.

Deal with unnecessary aggression from the other team – During matches, players can certainly get unnecessarily aggressive with players from the other team, pushing, elbowing, and stepping on feet when the referee isn’t looking. It’s easy to retaliate in rage. However, rage invokes a physical state which leads to poor decision making on the pitch and, ultimately, losses.

Accept rejection and persevere – Footballers on the path to becoming professional football players will certainly have to deal with rejection along the way. The path for most is long and arduous. Many players get rejected from teams that they think will be their road to success. It’s important to accept this rejection and keep moving forward.

"The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself."Neymar

Coachability

Another important trait of a football player with the proper mindset is their coachability. Dr. Goldberg, Sports Performance Consultant and internationally-known expert in peak sports performance, describes the un-coachable athlete as “that individual who feels that he/she is never wrong, that the coach is unfairly picking on them whenever any kind of critical or even constructive feedback is given and the player who simply refuses to take any responsibility for his/her mistakes or failure.”

No matter how talented a player might be, they have to be willing to learn from their coaches. This means not only listening to his or her instructions, but also seeking out, accepting, and integrating feedback without defensive backlash. Players should also demonstrate an ability to self-correct and try new actions to get improved results.

Self-motivation

The final trait a football player must possess to truly achieve success in football is self-motivation. As mentioned early, becoming one of the best in the world requires an incredible amount of practice. To practice for the necessary amount of hours at the necessary intensity, serious footballers must put in extra hours and make all kinds of sacrifices including waking up early to train, adhering to a strict diet and exercise routine, and missing out on all kinds of experiences with their peers.

Final thoughts

Becoming a successful soccer game watcher is a challenge for even the most talented players. These 15 skills are essential to your development as a game watcher, but you’ll need more than skill to go pro. Specifically, you need knowledge about exactly how you can become a professional player. The absolute best way to achieve success in soccer and even become a professional soccer player is to attend a high-performance soccer academy as a high school student. At high-performance academies, students explore their options to play professionally without neglecting their education.

It’s a lot of work, but check out how much successful soccer players make! Click the picture below to find out.