Fake It to Make It! "How-To" On Exuding Confidence Even When You Ain't Feelin' It!

Tryouts! Pre-Season!

• "Will I make the team?"
• "What does the coach think?"
• "How do I feel about my chances?"
• "Am I going to make it?"
• "Ahhhhh!"

Yeah, it's that time of year for college, high school and middle school soccer players (at least in my neck of the woods). Ugh!

Not allowing your negative feelings to dictate your actions is not easy. Your body language might suffer. You might negatively react instead of absorbing events, thinking, reasoning and soundly formulating how to act. 

This is a time that puts an athlete's confidence to the test...watch the video below to see how you can "trick" yourself into getting into a confident self-image, even if your not quite feeling it at the moment.

Graham Betchart is the director of mental training for Lucid Performance Inc. (Twitter: @trainwithlucid). 

Getting Recruited 101: Some help in writing to college coaches...

Check out this article from USA Today High School Sports on writing effective emails and communicating with college coaches.

https://usatodayhss.com/2018/3-helpful-examples-for-emailing-college-coaches

Find out more about getting recruited at US Today HS Sports Blog:

https://usatodayhss.com/tag/recruiting-2


Do you have any tips? Leave them in the comments.

Good Luck!
CP

I love when I come across an article that I wish I could have shared with my 15 year old self...

There isn't a person alive over 30 that doesn't come across what I call "software for the mind" that they wish they had known or adopted at a much earlier age. This is a great article that gives some insight into how to buckle down, trust the process and think more long term towards your end goals.

Link to article "7 Crucial Lessons People Often Learn Too Late in Life":  http://on.inc.com/2oE1ouE

The takeaway:

#coaching #soccer #futbol #studentathlete #motivation #motivationalquotes #parenting #parents #athlete #mindset #growthmindset 

A Great Analogy for Player Development...Trust the Process, But Don't Ignore Opportunity When It Stands Before You

So, do we go "low & slow" (read below) ALL the time or is a push by coach or Mom & Dad...or a self-directed-by-the-player plunge into the deep end the best thing for player development? I think a little of both is the recipe. The mastery of knowing when and how is what a coach/parent/player needs to work at. I personally subscribe to sticking to a process until an opportunity comes along that gives the player the chance to make a leap ahead. If you fail, so what? You tried, you go back into the process and wait for the next opportunity...BUT if you succeed!!!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Low & Slow (vs. fear)

by Seth Godin | Twitter: @thisissethsblog | Web: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

My sourdough rye bread failed. For the first time since I've been baking from this starter, this weekend's batch didn't work.

I know why.

I rushed it.

I didn't let the dough ferment long enough.

And then I made the oven hotter, in an effort to get the loaves finished so I could leave to meet someone.

That's not how great bread works. It's ready when it's ready, not when you need it to be.

Of course, the analogy is obvious. Much of the work we do as creators, as leaders, as people seeking to make change--it needs to ferment, to create character and tension and impact. And if we rush it, we get nothing worth very much.

There's a flipside.

Sometimes, we mistakenly believe that we're building something that takes time, but what we're actually doing is hiding. We stall and digress and cause distractions, not because the work needs us to, but because we're afraid to ship.

Impatience can be a virtue if it causes us to leap through the fear that holds us back.

For athletes, food is fuel... What do you fuel your body with? We count calories, but maybe it's time we spend more time on counting chemicals too?

For athletes, food is fuel...

What do you fuel your body with?

We count calories, but maybe it's time we spend more time on counting chemicals too? 

If herbicides and pesticides kill bugs & plants, what the he** is it doing to your body? How can it affect your growth, performance, recovery, etc.? (...and it's not just food...cosmetics, personal products like shampoo, deodorant, lotions, etc.)

Listen to the podcast below to educate yourself...and read a bit here: http://bit.ly/cpppesticides

"How To Ruin Your Kid’s Life In Sports" - Great Article!

Will Ferrell in "Kicking and Screaming"

I've made every parenting mistake along with every coaching mistake. Mistakes are how you learn, if you pay attention and learn from your mistakes...the old "Lose, but don't lose the lesson" quote comes to mind.

Read below for a great article on how we behave, how we should behave and how we can help our kids (coaches and parents) enjoy the experience of sports participation, especially at the younger ages when they are just beginning and trying to master fundamentals that will be all important for their game later on.

Ask yourself after a little self-reflection...what adjustments do I need to make to help my kid (parents) or my kids (coaches) enjoy the sport more?

Click here: http://bit.ly/how2ruin

Recognize to Recover...US Soccer's outstanding resource for all...Nutrition & Hydration

#USSoccer has a great site called #RecognizeToRecover, that covers everything from #INJURYPREVENTION, #INJURYRECOVERY, #HEAD #BRAIN CONDITIONS #CONCUSSIONS, #HEADINJURY, #CARDIAC CONDITIONS TO #NUTRITION & #HYDRATION. It is an excellent resource for the #player, #parent & #coach.

A great place to start is Nutrition & Hydration. Many misconceptions when it comes to nutrition can be cleared up by reading...find it here: http://bit.ly/ussoccernutrition

When people think about being a good #soccer player, they tend to talk about an individual’s abilities. What most people forget is that for any individual at any level, being a good soccer #player starts with being #healthy and #eatingright.

Soccer is a demanding #sport that requires both #endurance and sprint #ability, and those high-intensity efforts result in a high-energy demand. Especially during periods with many matches or a lot of #training, nutrition is important to recover and protect against overuse #injuries. A good #diet and the right nutrition can support intensive training while limiting the risks of illness or injury and are also important in the preparation for games and speeding up #recovery afterwards.

#studentathlete #growthmindset #coaching #motivation #parenting #mindset #play #fitness #fit #motivation #Exercise #Soccerlife