Monday, May 10, 2010

Coaching High School Soccer: How To Learn Visualization



It may sound untrue but it’s true with respect to coaching high school soccer, the greatest weapon that any soccer player can use. Players who become stars demonstrate exemplary control over both mind and the body.

Visualization is a process that can train the mind to build that self description. They do it by using all the senses to re-establish or produce an experience inside the mind. Greatest rewards of learning are experienced when it is a blend of visualization. It is a blend of mental rehearsal that consequently train the mind and physical practice that prepares the body.

In soccer coaching, visualization offers a lot of help to sort out different performance issues of players. This mental skill requires the player to imagine him or herself playing soccer. It involves seeing, hearing, feeling, and even smelling the action.

The important part here is that a positive image of this scenario lives inside the memory of a player. And the player has a sketch ready to recall anytime a situation like this comes up. Moreover, when the player has something to turn to, he’ll not panic in a difficult situation.

For the mental images to become clearer have your players practice visualization when coaching youth soccer. It’ll boost player’s confidence significantly when the images they draw become clearer and their emotional support more influential.

When any player suffers an injury, he feels isolated from the team, the motivation, excitement, and misses a feeling of belongingness. This negatively affects their morale. Here again, it is the coach’s job to encourage the player to visualize the injury and healing in strong and positive ways.

While coaching high school soccer, the player must be assisted in comprehending the planned character of the team and his or her related role. The players will start performing well if we start practicing this. At the time of strategic changes, the coach can visualize his strategies to the team which may be of the form, “If this happens...then we will…”

All players do get stressed. A successful player is the one who knows how to win over his or her stress. Visualization can be used as a technique of rehearsing opportunities with the players who are prone to stress.

In a situation like this, the players normally see moments of possible stress and train the mind negatively. Here, a coach can change this image by reminding the player of his or her ability, past success, experience, and strength of the team.

In football coaching, many a times, situations occur where players tend to play a spontaneous game. Players have time to think and hence rehearse their actions in situations such as penalties, free kicks and corners.

Implement this in coaching high school soccer and transform the way the players visualize themselves and their situations positively and enthusiastically.

There is a good amount of information in the form of articles, videos and newsletters posted on our youth soccer coaching community which keep you updated with the latest and the best in soccer, hence you should subscribe it.


Andre Botelho is known online as "The Expert Youth Soccer Coach" and his free Coaching high school soccer ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. To skyrocket your players' skills and make practice fun in record time, download your free Coaching Youth Soccer ebook at: Soccer Practice Drills.


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