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