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!