Through the ups and downs of soccer, keep an even keel and stay in the moment
Soccer is an emotional sport. We see it all over the Washington D.C area during the youth outdoor seasons and we see it on television at the professional levels. Players get pumped when they have done well and may also be seen laying on the ground in tears after a difficult loss. Obviously, this is never going to change in the game of soccer. However, it is important to keep your emotions in check while playing in a game and/or through the course of a long season in order to play your absolute best.
The idea of keeping an even keel is something that I feel is not stressed enough to youth soccer players. Some people have never even thought about paying attention to it, but it is great to watch soccer teams that are able to maintain it. Soccer is such a free-flowing game, that if you worry about what happened two minutes ago or even ten seconds ago, you are going to be missing what is going on RIGHT NOW. If you pay attention to what is occurring at the moment at all times, your overall game will improve tremendously.
If you score a goal (celebrate of course)…….but then it’s over so move on and keep playing right away. If you have a silly touch out of bounds and feel like crawling into a hole…..don’t worry about it…..it’s over….keep playing right away and try to correct it the next time.
Emotions run high during a soccer season or a soccer game. Keep an even keel on the soccer field, and while playing in the heat of a game, always pay attention to the present……. not the past. When going through the season, always look forward to your next opponent, not backwards at your last one. Your teammates will thank you for it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.