Soccer: What America Taught Me About Soccer

Have you heard the saying?

“You are what you eat”.

Millions of people are food conscious and many of us are guilty of counting calories. The health industry is a billion dollar industry and supplies us with vitamins, proteins and pills of all shapes and sizes. At the end of the day and if you believe the hype, the body becomes what the body is fed.

Having travelled the United States for the last month, I’d like to add a different spin on this idea. It’s proven that the body reflects the diet you consume. No arguments here. What about your environment? Does the environment affect your body or your state of mind? There is no such thing as mind food, or is there?

Before I confuse you let me explain. Mind food or environmental stimulus doesn’t come in packages and you definitely can’t buy it in supermarkets. Your environment and your thoughts are mind foods. All the countless things that stimulate you, motivate you or even inspire you are a form of mind food.

The environment and your surroundings play a big part in who you become? Have you ever thought what kind of person you would be had you been raised in some foreign country. I currently live in Australia but would things be different if I lived in the US?

What sports would I follow?

What foods would I eat?

What kind of work would I’d be doing?

Would I have played soccer?

You can never answer the questions accurately but chances are I would have grown into a different person had I grown up in a different country. Why?

“You are a product of your environment”.

Living in a different country would have exposed me to a different environment with a different set of influences. Would I use the phrase,

“Gday mate”, if I was reared in New York, I strongly doubt it. Would hot pies be replaced with hot dogs and pizzas, you better believe it. Would I support Melbourne victory or the New York Yankees?

The bottom line is your environment shapes you, makes you act and think the way that you do. So what’s the point?

The point is this,

Next time you hand your kids over to the coach, is the environment suitable? Have you picked the club based on location, price or simply because it’s convenient? Does the coach create a positive and friendly environment that develops your children and allows them to pursue their dreams and ambitions?

If you think for one second that the coach and the environment will not influence you or your kids, wake up and open your eyes.

If you play in a negative environment or you send your children to training that are poorly structured and conducted by incompetent personnel you only have yourself to blame.

Prolonged association with negative coaches will inevitably influence you and your children in a negative way. Petty and dishonest players and coaches will develop the same traits not only in you, but more importantly in your children.

But on the other extreme, contact with good, honest and caring coaches creates a loving and friendly environment that will influence you and your child in a positive manner. Contact with honest and ambitious players and coaches gives us ambition. Gives us the ability to dream the impossible and for that split second fantasize that one day your dream will appear in the distance like a mirage.

Think about the player you’ve become or the person you’ve become if you’re no longer playing. The person you’ve become didn’t happen overnight, did it? Your personality, ambitions or lack of them, your status, your financial status are largely the result of your environment. Now think about this, the player you will be in one, five or ten years from now will depend on your future environment.

You change every day. But how you will change depends on your environment and the respective influences that arise from your environment.

What is the greatest obstacle you or your child face in gaining that elusive professional contract? Not knowing your age, status or location I can accurately answer this question. The biggest and number one obstacle on the road to a professional contract is the feeling that this accomplishment is out of reach. This feeling or attitude is a result of your environment and stems from many suppressive forces that change and alter your thinking.

When I was young, not only did I want to play for Barcelona, but I also wanted to be a lawyer and one day become Prime Minister. At a young age I wanted to conquer everything. I wanted to be first, the biggest and the best. Looking back my ignorance was a blessing. But what happened?

Although my goals were big, when I reached the age when I could begin to work towards my goals, a number of suppressive influences dictated what I could achieve.

“Don’t be stupid”

“Don’t be naïve”

“It’s impractical and foolish to dream”

“Be realistic”.

Don’t fool yourself for one minute. You are judged by the team you play for. Fellow team mates are not all alike. Most are negative, some are positive. Some play because they “have to”; the minority is ambitious and works towards their goals. Some players belittle everything the coach says or does. All the above players influence the way you think and act as a player. How you think is directly influenced by the team or coach you play for.

There are many pitfalls to watch out for in a soccer environment. In every team there are many players who, secretly aware of their own inadequacies, want to stand in your way and prevent you from developing. They fear that one day you will replace them in the team. After all, a soccer team can only accommodate eleven players.

Another environmental factor that is often overlooked is that of conversations or the manner of communication. Believe it or not, conversations are a big part of the environment. Make sure the conversation in your team or kid’s team is a healthy one and that it encourages you and inspires you. That the talk around the team makes you feel like a winner, not a loser.

So before you join a soccer club or enroll your kids in soccer, make sure to pick the best club no matter the travel time or the price. I know what you’re thinking,

“But I can’t afford it”!

The simplest answer is this; you cannot afford to go to a club that has a negative environment. In the long run, traveling the extra distance or paying the additional fees will cost you and your children less than going to a negative, mediocre team. Would you rather have one good pair of soccer boots or have three pairs of boots that are ruined and in bad condition.

Note to all players and parents, please always seek out quality. Not only does it pay, it costs no more and often less, than going to a mediocre club. Seek out healthy environments that are the breeding grounds for tomorrow’s superstars. Could you ever put a price on your happiness or your child’s happiness? Would you ever jeopardize your child’s chances of playing in the big leagues?

Then what are you waiting for? Choose a team, an environment that will allow you to dream the biggest of dreams.

Although we can never change our birth location, we can definitely change our environments.