The first 2 steps are in your head (pt 1)

As I stated in the introduction I wanted to bring to your attention the importance of the mental aspect of the game. I wrote that everything is built on the foundation of your skills or technique but you must be attentive to the physical and mental aspects of the game.I'll start with "understanding the game" or tactical awareness. Most coaches put tactical awareness into its own group, but I believe it is a major component of the mental aspect of your game. I wrote in the introduction that the only way to truly gain an understanding of the game was through watching and playing. Now you have been taught or coached on a variety of tactical situations from how to run a 4-4-2 to what to do in a 2 vs 1 in the defensive third of the field but what sticks in your mental database is what has worked in games you've seen or played. Because soccer is not football the 4-4-2 will often morph into a 4-5-1 or 4-3-2-1. Your decision on how to handle the 2 vs 1 will be tempered by where you are on the field, who's tracking back, your confidence in your keeper or a dozen other factors. The most important thing I want you to remember is : You can't stop thinking!It sounds so simple yet how many times have you been watching a game and heard "that was just a mental lapse on so and so's part"? Unlike your technique which should be automatic you can't put your mind on auto-pilot during a game. When you do you end up reacting and in soccer that equals chasing the ball which means no fun. Now here's the big secret. Remember all that work with Brian on explosive speed? All the plyometrics, all the work on first step technique? The secret is the first two steps are in your head! When you start thinking during the game you move from reaction to ... wait for it ...wait... ANTICIPATION! I know you've never heard this before, especially being screamed from the sidelines. Some of the fastest players you'll face on the soccer field are not the fastest at running the 40. They are players with great tactical awareness or understanding of the game who are thinking and anticipating on the field. As the level of your play raises so will the "speed of play". Speed of play has many components. Physically, it is affected by the quality of our first touch. From the mental side, it is affected by our understanding of the game, i.e., the decision process made by the you as to when to turn and take on an opponent, when to combine with another player or when to play a forward pass. Now the best part is when you have great tactical awareness and can remained focused on the field you move from reacting or anticipating to DIRECTING.
Next we'll talk about confidence.