The Importance of Playing Soccer with Intention

Intention is everything. It’s the passion, the drive, the intensity, and that never-back-down-from-a-challenge attitude. If you want to get good at soccer, or just about anything else for that matter, you have to play with intention. This will help give you the confidence to attack, whether that means taking on a defender and beating them, or making a brave tackle or block that prevents your opponent from scoring. Playing with great intention will make you approach the game of soccer strongly and confidently, and will help you become the impact player that fans so desperately love.

Playing soccer with intention means playing with an absence of fear. Fear emerges in every aspect of life, and it creates a weak frame of mind. When making a play in soccer, don’t think about that pass or scissor move potentially being performed incorrectly, or worry about making a mistake. Think about the opportunity that the play creates. Visualize your pass cutting through the backline, or imagine the defender totally falling over for your tricky feet and you powering past him or her in a blazing image of glory.

Don’t worry about the fact that you may not be god enough, or that you might get totally beaten by a quicker opponent. Focus everything you’ve got on winning the game and helping your team succeed. It’s all you can do in the end.
This mindset needs to be in your head all the time. The moment any self-doubt comes into play is the moment that you will make a mistake. Attack everything you do. Do it to the fullest. That way you will be playing soccer with intention and will not afraid to get beaten.

When you go to shoot the ball, don’t think about dinking it off the post or aiming away from the keeper. Shoot it with all your might and if it goes in, then great! If you miss the shot then work to try better the next time around.

The problem with a lot of young soccer players is that they lose confidence because of several small failures. When they join a challenge team for the first time, there is often a difficulty in playing against the tougher competition. This experience occurs at every step of the way, whether it be from middle school to high school, junior varsity to varsity, or even college to professional. Players will experience a certain amount of setbacks, but the best have short memories and soon work through these challenges to succeed, because they want to so badly. Worrying about your skills or failing is a certain recipe for failure.

So next practice or game, go at soccer with full intentions. Play your heart out and be determined to succeed. A little boost in esteem could be exactly what is needed for you to take your game to the next level.




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