When David Beckham was a teenager, did he really, really want to play soccer?
Absolutely!
Did 85% of teenagers that quit the game really, really want to play soccer?
Probably not!
So what’s my point?
In order to want something it’s a good idea to have a plan. It’s also important that your want/s are in fact, your wants.
Deciding that a soccer career is for you instead of letting someone else decide for you is a significant problem. If your dream is not that elusive contract then don’t change your ways because someone is telling you otherwise.
Think about this for a minute.
Do you play soccer?
As a soccer player are you happy? This question is purely based on your relationship with the game.
You might think to yourself what is soccer happiness anyway?
My definition of soccer happiness is wanting the things you’re likely to get. Most players don’t set their goals high enough and feel happy when they accomplish becoming mediocre or average players. Another definition meaning the same thing but worded differently would be not wanting the unattainable.
Soccer should always be about the “you show”.
That’s right, “you”!
It’s funny when you trial for teams that want your services. All of a sudden you’re the star of the show. Training becomes a show piece for you to display and announce your skills.
When trialing with a new team, one approach is to be reactive, to listen to the coach, play where he puts you and to try and fit in without causing too many waves. It’s also a good idea to answer all questions directed to you in a safe and conservative manner.
Don’t you agree?
The other approach is to put on a show, to become the main star, to take charge and to also display your balls.
Which approach would get noticed the most?
This year I had the chance to visit Las Vegas. Las Vegas is the city of shining lights. On arrival, no one asked me what kind of lights I wanted. No one asked me what kind of entertainment I wanted. Vegas has its own shows. If you don’t like them, you leave! Plenty of people stay though.
The city Vegas exists because it puts on a show and the desert profits from its confidence of attracting new visitors.
So the point is this,
Most soccer coaches don’t want to pick players who have vision, personality and guts. But that’s okay because you don’t want to play for them anyway.
At the end of the day, Soccer is always about the “you show” and nothing else. Enjoy the spotlight.
Hi Thomas. Am enjoying your blog and passing it on to people at our club. I’m wondering if you’ve ever come across a posting/information about promotional strategies for up and coming players. I’m wondering who (if anyone) is harnessing the tools and potential offered by Web 2.0 to both protect and enhance their future ‘brand’?
At my club I’ve encountered some resistance when I talk about how our club should be using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube (and even Flickr) as ways to communicate with our members and players. However I must say all the younger payers (and some more web-savvy parents/coaches) ‘get it’ immediately (and I’ve just gone ahead and done it to be honest!).
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about how to harness that on an inidividual level and thought you may know of someone writing about this specifically for football (or any other sport really). I’ve seen many articles for protecting business brands (eg brandjacking) – maybe the same principles apply?? There is a good article in Mashable (http://mashable.com/2009/04/21/protecting-online-identity/) but I’d be keen to hear what you think from yor experience.
Cheers!
Gday, web2.0 properties are the best way to spread the word about your site or any individual player. Twitter is great for quick announcements and is a great avenue of traffic. I’ve personally invested a lot of time time in Digg, Propeller, Mixx, Stumbleupon and Delicious. However,if you’re looking to create your own brand and create your own facebook or social network, i’d highly recommend a software called……. sorry I have to look it up and come back to this answer. One second please.
I’m back, the best way to create a social network on an individual level is to use wordpress with a few plug ins. If you want to create a site similar to facebook, I would highly recommend the following,
Ning
Elgg
Pligg
Dolphin
Boonex Dolphin
As for protecting your brand, I would strongly suggest you buy all the extensions for your brand, com. net. org. to eliminate others stealing your traffic. If you don’t use them, set them up as redirects.
Thanks for spreading the word about my site, it means a lot to me.
Good luck with your branding and site, it looks very clean and sharp. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Regards Thomas