Soccer: Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace

I’m just here to have fun!

I’m here to learn!

I’m here to be the best!

Every player that attends training has his own agenda and motives.

A cross section of today’s kids playing soccer would unearth several reasons why they participate.

My question to you is this,

When you attend training, do you go through the motions or do you actively seek to improve? Is your effort or commitment overshadowed by your dreams? Are you realistic or are you planning for a miracle?

Chances are you want to play at the highest level and want to be rewarded financially, agree?

You want a professional contract and several endorsements, agree?

Here’s the part where I tell you all about how fabulous it is to have a professional contract. Then I tell you how you can have the soccer lifestyle and all its little perks. Live in Spain, Italy or England and have an obscene amount of money thrown at you.

What’s that you said?

You already know all this stuff?

You’ve already been sold the soccer dream haven’t you?

Sorry!

Now I’m guessing you’re looking for a way to make this dream come true. You want to have all the best clubs in the world fighting for your signature, don’t you?

Let’s get started.

Training is the best platform to develop and increase your overall performance. Training is also the best environment to learn the game. Learning is fine.

If you are keen to learn, improve and one day play at the highest level you need to listen. Listening is good.

If you agree to learn and listen then a certain amount of mutual respect is developed. Mutual respect is natural.

The norm would suggest that this is a good thing. Learn, listen and respect. Do you agree?

Before you read on answer the question,

Do you agree?

If you agree than it’s a good start. Status quo suggests that you should. But is it enough?

How often do you initiate or question things at training?

Chances are you don’t.

Why not?

Who knows you better as an individual?

Who understands your capabilities as a player?

Who understands your mentality and desire?

Who better to recognize your strengths and weaknesses?

Of course it’s you!

Different players have different needs and require different training methods. So what happens when the training methods are not suitable for you?

Even worse, what happens if you’ve got talent?

What do you do when training is easy and slowing your progress down while the other players start to gain on you?

Just because you listen, learn and respect doesn’t guarantee you anything in soccer. Nearly every young player participating in soccer will listen, learn and show respect. Will they all progress and succeed? I strongly doubt it!

Here’s a thought.

How many players will question the coach and initiate changes if required? Players that initiate are rare, valuable and essential to the game.

Have you ever initiated new drills or training methods? Have you got your own ideas or suggestions? Have you got the guts to question the coach?

Players that will back their own ability and are willing to speak up will inevitably become tomorrow’s superstars.

If you believe a certain coach is incompetent, speak up. If you believe your coach is not meeting your needs as a player, leave. In order to lift your game to the next level you need to be challenged and training needs to be physically exhausting. You’re not looking for a walk in the park are you?

So if training is not demanding enough speak up and become the initiator or simply find a club that meets your requirements. Becoming the big fish in the small pond is the best way to become an average player at best.

Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions or initiate changes because if you’ve got talent, coaches will want you. They will ask for you and they will ask nicely for your $ervice$. Trust me!

At the end of the day you have 2 choices.

You can dissipate your gift / talent by listening, learning and showing respect when the training is not suitable.

Or, you can say no, this training is not suitable. You can say no with respect. But just accepting your coach or his methods because you can’t bear the short term pain of saying no, is not going to help you.

Think about this next time you attend training, being the initiator, saying no to certain coaches gives you the chance to say yes to important life changing opportunities. Think about that before you decide to listen, learn and show respect.

If you question, say “no” more than “yes” and don’t participate in the status quo that exists in soccer, you could one day become a household name.

A household name!

Not for every player but for players that have the ability to say ‘no”, I’m better than this.

For players that have the courage to back themselves against the norm and against the millions of players that have already said yes.