Psychology Techniques to Develop a Winning Soccer Mindset
As footballer, being confident in your skills comes. from developing a winning soccer mindset on and off the field. The best players in the world are the most confident in their skills which comes from their strong mindset.
As the great Andrea Pirlo once said, “Football is played with your head, your feet are just your tools.” Everything starts with your head from your mindset to confidence to awareness to decision making and more.
Developing a strong mindset is something we can all do on our own and some can do it better than others, but there are certain ways to train your mind, the same way you can train your body. I studied kinesiology with a specialization in rehab:science, but I also took a lot of different classes like physics, neuroscience, sports psychology, and more and have realized that training both mind and body to work together will lead to an easier time getting into the flow state.
In this blog post I will cover many sports psychology techniques and tips you can start using today to develop a winning mindset.
Develop a Growth Mindset
As soccer players it is important to have a growth mindset on and off the field. How you do one thing is how you do everything so if you apply a growth mindset to everything outside of the field you will have an easier time having a growth mindset when playing the game.
A growth mindset believes that skills and intelligence can be developed through working hard and smart and staying dedicated and committed. By adopting this mindset, you become more resilient to setbacks and failures, and you’re better able to learn and grow from your experiences.
This mindset allows you to view setbacks and challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement by embracing criticism from the right people, such as coaches. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset which is someone who will be less likely to put in the effort required to improve their skills and more likely to give up when they are having a hard time.
A growth mindset is basically trying to find the good in every situation and learning as much as you can from each one of your experiences
Positive Self-Talk
Your mind is mighty powerful and so is your tongue so speak right on your life because it is what you become. Your inner dialogue plays a huge role in how you feel and how you perform.
The best advice is to become more aware of how you talk to yourself and catch yourself when you do have negative thoughts, and do your best to replace them with positive thoughts
These are some examples of phrases that you can use.
- I can do this
- I am a great player
- I am prepared for this match
- We can beat this team
- I will get an assist
- I will score a goal
- I have trained and taken care of every aspect of my life for this match
- I am ready for this match
- I am prepared for this match
- Today is another day to get better and improve
- I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase my skills to the world today
Learn from Your Mistakes
Part of having a growth mindset is learning from your mistakes and being able to move on from them as quick as possible. Like the other tips on this list apply this to your everyday life, but if you make a mistake on the field there is no need to worry about it because it already happened.
Focus on what you can control, which is how you react and anticipate the next plays after making the mistake. Mistakes happen and they are part of the game, but it is what you do after you make a mistake that matters.
The best way to learn anything is through experience and making mistakes is part of gaining those experiences. Another way to learn anything is by learning from the experiences and mistakes of others, so that you don’t make those same mistakes yourself which is why I highly recommend the following:
- Play the game as much as possible
- Be open to criticism
- Read soccer books
- List to soccer podcasts and interviews
- Watch soccer documentaries, movies, tv shows, and even some anime
Self-reflection
Taking some time out of your day, in the morning, at night, or even just once a week, to write down your thoughts can be a great way to self-reflect on your soccer training and matches for the week.
You can use a journal to write down anything you want to help you understand what your thoughts may be trying to tell you. For example, you can write about how you are feeling that day, what went well in practice, what went wrong, what you need to improve, what you are doing well, or anything else that comes to mind.
This does not have to be complicated or structured and you can also write about things you are grateful for to practice more gratitude
Visualization
Visualization is exactly what it sounds like. You close your eyes and visualize yourself performing certain actions that you want to do in a soccer game or training session.
How well you are able to visualize will depend on how creative you are, how well you can use your imagination, and how clearly you can create an image inside your mind’s eye. Before your next match or training take 5-10 minutes to visualize what you want to do in that match.
This could be visualizing yourself scoring goals, dribbling past players, stopping a goal from being scored, and so on. Your brain does not know whether an action occurs in reality or in your head so the better you get at this the more benefits since you can literally get extra reps of training inside your mind without causing physical fatigue.
Meditation
Meditation is a great way to practice mindfulness, can teach you how to clear your mind, and can be a great tool to help you get into flow states easier. Most people think meditation has to be done in the criss-crossed position with your eyes closed, but there are many other ways to practice meditation
Some people find meditation in standing still, going on walks in nature, reading books, doing breath work, or many other ways. Find something that works for you and practice it consistently.
Start with a low number, such as five minutes and gradually build up time. You can even start with guided meditations or by listening to calming music if you are not comfortable meditating alone in the quiet.
Being able to clear your mind, learning how to enjoy the present moment, and learning how to be with yourself are great ways to get into flow, which is what will allow you to play by instinct because you will no longer be overthinking your actions.
Develop Discipline In Every Aspect of Your Life
If you want to have a better mental health and a stronger soccer mindset, you have to take care of every aspect of your life because everything you do affects your mind directly or indirectly and this includes:
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Hydration
- Recovery
- Fascial Fitness
- Injury Prevention
- Mitochondrial function
- EMF exposure
- Relationship with nature
Flow State
The main goal of using all of the previous mental training techniques is to be better able to get into a flow state, which is a a heightened state of consciousness where everything “clicks” and performance skyrockets. As a footballer you need to be able to get into a flow state on the pitch do improve your focus, confidence, decision-making, and creativity.
Summarize
To summarize, it is very important for soccer players to use sports psychology techniques to help develop their mindset. Each player has their preference for what type of mental training they want to focus on based on their desired outcomes. In this guide I provided you with various tips to help you develop confidence and a growth mindset.
If you are interested in more mental training exercises or private training, contact me and mention this blog post or fill out the form on our private training page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best psychological techniques to develop a winning soccer mindset?
Developing a growth mindset, positive self-talk, learning from your mistakes, self-reflection, visualization, and meditation are the best ways to become mentally tough and achieve soccer success. These techniques will also help you get into flow states much easier.
What separates great players from average players?
Although the physical part of the game is obviously very important, having a winning mentality and mental toughness is what will help great players stand out from the crowd.
