How to be more confident in a match?

Speak, bolerada! LDP here sending you another monster tip! Today I'm going to talk about how to boost your confidence and lower that pressure and anxiety during a soccer match.

A mistake that athletes make far too often, and that I also made during my youth years, is having uncontrollable goals. 

And what do I mean by that? Well, let's assume that you are a goalkeeper and you create a goal before the game without conceding a goal. That is your only goal and you are 100% committed and confident that you will achieve it.

Now imagine, 5 minutes into the first half, the opposing team striker hits a wingless pigeon from outside the area in the drawer, and not even if you had a crystal ball you would be able to reach the ball.

And now? What happens to your mindset? All your preparation and energy was directed towards not conceding a goal and now you start to have negative thoughts and feel low, affecting the rest of your game and most of the time causing a subpar performance.

Another good example would be if you are a striker and you make scoring goals the main objective of the game. The problem with having that as the only thing on your mind is that you put unnecessary pressure on yourself. 

As I always say to my athletes and mentors, create controlled objectives and win the game's mini battles. For example, being well positioned, breaking through defensive lines, making the opponent's defense move, or if you are a more defensive player you can aim not to make hasty shots, maintain posture when scoring, pay attention to the line of attack off-side. 

As you win these mini battles, your confidence will gradually increase and the more difficult and uncontrollable goals like scoring a goal or not conceding a goal will be easier to achieve.

Remember, a football game is like a battle to conquer a trench. In a war, no one arrives at once and dominates the trench, it is a slow process that requires armies to advance little by little.

Win the mini battles to win the war.

And remember, if you want to be in the best shape of your career and want to fly into your next test or championship, download our training programs and start training today!