DPC - The 3 Secrets to Being Your Best and Achieving your Goals

Dear Future Soccer Star,

The start of the season is coming up fast.  And my team has had some setbacks.  First off, we lost five solid players that were committed to our team vision and passionate about the goals of our team. 

We've added 4 good players that are a great fit for the team... but the dynamics and energy of our team is much different than it was last season. 

I've also noticed that the commitment from our current roster of players is different this season.

Right now, players are much more reliant on the coaches "telling" them exactly what to do.  In the past a large portion of our team was passionate and worked daily to improve their skills, mental toughness, and physical toughness. 

For example, early on in the season I expressed to each player that conditioning, strength, and daily improvement is crucial to the success of the team. I taught each player 6 conditioning and strength building exercises.  We performed these six powerful exercises for two weeks of practice.  Players were moaning and groaning about how sore they were but even after only two weeks you could see that their agility, speed and balance were starting to improve. 

On week three I asked my players if anyone was doing the exercises on their own at home?

The response:  Nobody is. 

Now we are a few days away from the first game of the season and players are telling me they are worried that we are not prepared.  They don't know if they will be strong enough and conditioned enough to compete.   

For me this is frustrating... because I thought I did a good job of teaching my players that the secret to being your best has a lot to do with preparation.  Preparation is up to YOU.  And Preparation is something you must do on your own outside of your regular practices.  

A coach, teacher, parent, or friend can teach you what to do and train you 1, 2, or even 3 times a week but if you don't make the decision to prepare on your own - you will only make minimal strides toward your goals and you lower your probability of achieving your desires. 

So I have to remind my players that there are three simple steps that are a proven formula for success.  Its like a multiplication problem. 

D x P x C = You being your best and achieving your goals and dreams. 

The first letter D stands for DESIRE

Desire is a clear target/goal that you can SEE, FEEL, and KNOW with every cell of your body is something you want to achieve.  If you feel like you are struggling, if you feel frustrated, or you feel like you are stuck... the chances are your desire is not clearly defined. 

If that's the case then you have to work on improving your ability to see and feel your goal.  When I am frustrated and feeling stuck I always take 3 minutes every morning to imagine myself achieving my desire.  I do some deep breathing and spend those three minutes playing a mental movie of me achieving my goal.  Doing this every day is powerful.   

Your next step is to determine your P.  P is your passion.

Passion is something that all exceptional athletes allow to overflow from them.  It's a contagious energy that is the fuel to propel a person toward their desires.  Without passion you won't stay on the path toward your desires and goals.  No matter how strong your passion is - you can always increase it.  One way is to take 5 minutes every morning to list all the reasons why you believe you deserve to achieve your goals and dreams.  This too is a powerful way to increase your probability of achieving your goals and dreams. 

The final piece of the equation is the letter C.  C stands for CONVICTION. 

In the book Golf's Sacred Journey - the teacher asks his student (a professional golfer) why he grips the club the way he does.  The student says, "It just feels right."  The teacher looks at his student, takes out a piece of paper and writes in big bold letters, "FIRED". 

In disbelief the student looks at his teacher, takes the paper and starts to ask what's wrong with his grip. 

Our teacher replies, "The grip is fine.  It's your answer that is unacceptable." 

He goes on to explain... "Son, You just got fired.  You are the CEO of a potential multimillion dollar company.  If you want to be rehired by the end of this day you better learn to answer your board of directions with a competent and well-thought-out answer to such a strategic and crucial question.  If you want to lead a successful organization, you better build a bullet proof foundation for why you do what you do and how you do it.  Or you should hang it up right now." 

To perform at our best and to compete at the highest level you must have conviction.  You cannot leave your performance to chance.  You must know what you do, how you do it and why you do it.  If you don't know those three things - you'll fall apart under the pressure. 

So it's really important for you to understand and develop conviction.  You want to build your commitment to a worthwhile goal/desire.  Without conviction you will allow your fears, doubts, excuses, and insecurities to take you off the path of achieving your desires.  And there's a very good chance that other peoples doubts, fears, excuses, and insecurities will also derail you. 

There you have it... D x P x C!

The secret to being your best.  Three letters that can and will change your life and success on the soccer field.  Drop me an email and let me know how this message helped you achieve your goals and dreams.  I'm always excited to hear about your success.

Go get it!

Coach Nolan


Ps - Season long training programs are kicking off in the next week or so.  Let me know if you are looking for a way to have your best season ever!   soccerwithoutfear@gmail.com
 

Do you practice or play in “I Can’t Do It Mode”?

Dear Future soccer star,

Many players show up to practice and games with absolutely zero goals in their mind on what they want to accomplish.  And when that happens there’s a good chance that whatever drill or exercise they attempt is more difficult than it needs to be. 

Why?

Because without a worthwhile goal – your mind shifts to a default mode that I like to call, “I can’t do it” mode.  Yes it is really that simple.  Without a worthy goal that you want to accomplish – when you are presented with a drill you’ve never done or something new or a tough competitor – your mind automatically says, “I Can’t do it!”

There are specific reasons your mind does this… mainly to keep you safe and protected – so you don’t feel like a failure.  But all you really need to know is that when you are in “I Can’t do it” mode there is absolutely NO WAY you are going to practice, train or perform at your best.    

Let me give you an example:

My very last game of my college career – we were playing against Irvine Valley.  They were 2^nd in the conference and my team was dead last.  I was playing at about 60% because I had suffered an injury three weeks earlier and I didn’t want to finish my college career riding the bench.  So I came back after sitting one game and played the best I could. 

Before the game started I was distracted and unfocused.  I was not clear on what I wanted to accomplish and I really had no goal for the game.  Normally I would find some time for myself before the game, recall all the great games and goals I’ve scored before.  Then I would imagine myself having a great game and doing great things to help my team.  But for some reason this game I didn’t do either one of those things.   

From the very first whistle I was getting beat 1v1 and had a hard time keeping up.  And about 2 minutes into the game my mind started telling me, “I can’t do it.  Maybe I should ask for sub and let someone else play.  How am I ever going to keep up with this guy?” 

Not good thoughts to be having in the middle of the game right?

As the game went on – the guy I was covering was becoming more confident in taking me on and started to talk trash.  Usually that type of opponent causes me to flip a switch in my mind and I tell myself – “You’ve got this.  Go show him what you’re made of!”    

But not that day.

My mind kept telling myself in a more passionate and intense voice, “I can’t do it!” 

And the more I heard the voice of “I can’t do it” - the more I believed it.  I kept losing easy balls out of bounds.  I made passes directly to the other team.  I tripped and fell just trying to change direction from offense to defense.   It was bad!  Real bad!!

When the game ended I had five fouls, almost got in two fights, and had failed to do my job on the field in the biggest way.  It was not the way I wanted to end my career.  And it still haunts me to this day. 

But it taught me a huge lesson.  And it’s a lesson that I use when I play competitively today and I share with my players each and every training session. 

The lesson is this:

You must have two things EVERY TIME you take the field! 

1.    A written goal that is simple, clear, and creates a powerful mental image.

2.    A trigger that will help you refocus when things are not going your way. 

If you have these two things you increase your chances of success on the field by 80%.  I’ve proven it to myself and the players I train every day prove it week in and week out. 

So if you have ever had a game where you’ve struggled like I did – and you’d rather not go through that experience again, listen to me now and believe me later. 

Have a simple goal that you can focus on each and every practice and game.  And learn how to develop a trigger that will help you refocus your mind and become calm and relaxed (even under the greatest pressure you can imagine). 

Trust me my friend… if you do these things you’ll drastically reduce the impact of “I can’t do it” mode and start to have much more success on the field!

Talk to you again soon!

 

Coach Nolan

PS  State Cup and tryouts are coming up quick… if you took a long break over the holiday and haven’t started training yet – it’s time to pick up a ball and hit the field.  If you want to join some dedicated players that are having tremendous success email me and we will plug you into some of my training sessions!

We are getting close to starting an 8 week training program that will give you incredible ball mastery and finishing skills of a pro!  Nberentis@gmail.com

 

Great Habits for the 2016

To kick off the New year I’m going to be sharing some messages with you that I hope you will find inspiring, helpful, and easily to implement ideas that get you great results.  Let me know what you messages resonate with you or if you have any questions or ideas you want me to cover!

All the best and Happy New Year!

Nolan

 

Dear Future soccer star,

Last week I was listening to an interview with a guy by the name of Jocko Willink.  Yes, that’s his name – “Jocko”.  I wouldn’t make too much fun of it – the dudes a bad dude.  He’s a retired Navy Seal and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt.  While his credentials and looks may be intimidating I found his interviews to be amazingly insightful, intelligent, and extremely humble.  Plus he’s not afraid to do the work he needs to do to be successful.   

He shared some tremendous insight into what it takes to be successful – especially when your life is on the line.  One of the ideas he shared was that “Discipline equals freedom.” 

For a young soccer player there’s no-thing that could be truer.

I know that when I was in high school and college there were times it was a stuggle to keep all the balls in the air.  Heck it can be darn near impossible sometimes to try and maintain good grades, attend practice, fit in extra training for agility, strength and conditioning, mental practice, doing my chores around the house, and trying to fit in a social life with my friends. 

And today with technology the way it is and the speed everything seems to move – I can only imagine how difficult it is for you to try and keep up.  Especially with all these honors classes that seem to be the status quo for success in school today – I can see how the pressure for achieving success has multiplied. 

Can you relate?

Well hopefully this message will help put your mind at ease.  Because if you can grasp the concept of “Discipline equals freedom” and apply the idea in your life on a daily basis – you’ll eliminate a lot of the stress you experience. 

And when you eliminate stress – you perform better.  In school, on the field, and in life!

Here are two things you can do to help give you more freedom in your life.

1.    Review your goals daily

Yes, it’s so important for you to review your goals on a daily basis.  You can do it for 5 minutes, 10 minutes or even 30 seconds a few times a day.  Looking at your written goals is powerful and will keep you focused and motivated toward achieving them when things get rough or your get overwhelmed.  I write my goals on a 3x5 card and carry it with me everywhere I go. 

The next time you see me – ask me to show you my goals.  I’ll be happy to show you my goals so you can get an idea of how simple it is to write out what you want to achieve. 

 2.    Make a daily to-do list

Now that you have your goals written down and you’re looking at them all the time.  You’ve got to be sure that you set up specific times during the day to make progress on your goals. Even if it is only for 10-20 minutes. 

For example – for me - writing you a powerful and inspirational message is something I want to do and is a goal that I have.  So to be sure I get it done – I put it on my daily to-do list and spend 20-45 minutes writing.  Then I make sure that I discipline myself to do the task before I do other things that could distract me – like checking email, playing online games, or scrolling mindlessly through Facebook. 

Sometimes I have a great writing session and the message I write is powerful.  Other times the message is bunk, crap, and not worth sending.  But the fact is that I put in the effort and over time my skills at writing get better and easier to produce. 

What about you?  Is there a goal you have that you want to get really good at – really fast!?

 Maybe you want to be able to juggle the ball 100 times in a row.   

What if you wrote down the goal – “100 juggles in a row” on a 3x5 card and carried it with you all day long.  And you read the goal to yourself 3-4 times a day.  Then you scheduled a 10 minute practice juggling session for yourself at 6am, 330pm, and 730pm.   

How quickly do you think this discipline would help you achieve your goal?

I’m willing to bet that if you did this for 30 days straight you’d see amazing results!

And what if you applied this discipline for an entire year?  I bet you would look back and say “WOW, I can’t believe how much I have achieved!!!”  

The truth is when you write out your goals and set up a daily to do list – you start to realize that you are either DOING the disciplines that will help you ACHIEVE your goals or you realize you’re not as focused as you thought you were. 

Either way – when you recognize how disciplined you are – you are taking a major step toward owning your success and establishing habits that will help you be your best in 2016!

Discipline is your friend and if you want to be free – you need to be disciplined!

Talk to you again soon!

 

Coach Nolan

PS  Be on the lookout this year for a variety of messages coming your way.  My goal is to share some helpful ideas with you through Twitter, Facebook, email, blogging, etc., so you can really ramp up the success you achieve in 2016!