What is it that you deserve?

Professional Contract?

Sponsorship dollars? The glitz and the Glam of Soccer?

We’re such dedicated players. Hardened, thick skinned and conditioned from training so hard to deserve what we want.

Earning your stripes on a daily basis is a vicious cycle with the sharpest of teeth. Players with entitlement issues are irritating to say the least.

Me, me, me and did I tell you about me.

Sigh

These players want more than they’re willing to put in. Give them a jar of elbow grease and they will quickly hand it back.

I can’t stress this enough, YOU are worthy of your dreams. Whether it’s a professional contract or more game time, YOU have what it takes only IF YOU TRAIN.

Stop putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. You were thrown into this world, free, without any limitations or inhibitions.

Freedom was given to you at birth, stop trying to earn it.

Give yourself permission to DREAM and stop trying to escape the freedom. As for those entitlement issues, well, replace them with training, QUICK SMART!

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

“How can you be bothered writing, do you make any money?

At first it seemed arrogant, even odd.

How dare him, as angry, defensive thoughts trickled down my spine.

Funny thing is this, when I write there are no hidden agendas. I’m not aware of time or the money it costs me to host this site. Time flies when you’re having fun, rings true in this case.

Writing, thinking and even researching becomes easy, even during the late nights when the midnight candle burns.

Do you know why?

The answer is simple!

I imagine the reader,

YOU!

Who I conjure as an aspiring player much like my own younger version. Sometimes I envision a desperate parent wanting the very best for their children.

Either way, the vision is simple.

I hope to impart a little wisdom, inspiration and kick in the teeth motivation. Not to forget stories from the good old days and the depths of hard knocks, sprinkled with a few tricks of the trade.

That’s why Soccer Mastermind exists, the home of Love Based Soccer.

The answers you seek in Soccer are not found in what you have to do, but in what you love to do.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

“You must do what I say!”

“You need to agree with me.”

L-I-S-T-E-N!

These are the desperate cries of a frustrated soccer coach.

A youth coach that hasn’t figured out how to deal with short attention spans, mischief and players wanting to lick the posts.

Why should the player’s kids listen to you?

Why should they agree with you?

Do you need obedience and discipline to validate yourself as a coach? (same applies to soccer parents)

Do you long for acceptance?

If you seek validation, acceptance or even praise, you’re going to fail, big time. Not everyone is going to agree with you or even like you for that matter.

Forget about your training methods, super dooper training drills and philosophies for one moment.

Something new is needed.

Experienced youth coaches and the few that have experienced Love Based Soccer understand that “CHANGE” is not for everyone. Who in their right mind would change the pecking order especially when they sit on top of the mound?

Love Based Soccer is about change.

Not everyone will accept this new philosophy and it’s definitely not for everyone. Don’t worry, they can catch up later.

If the kids love the game, love you and feel the difference, Love Based Soccer will unearth soccer superstars. It’s inevitable.

Players, kids and parents are moved by stories and the universal emotion of love. The Beatles sang “All you need is love” and I couldn’t agree more.

Coaching kids soccer is a battle that can be won.

Forget logic for one moment.

Coaching professionals is not the same as coaching youngsters. So why do so many mimic and copy their training drills and philosophies?

Something to think about.

Put your trust in Love Based Soccer. Put it all on the line.

Will you succeed?

The only way to change things is to put it all on the line and swim against the tide.

Love Based Soccer is a prerequisite for Soccer Success.

It’s not a choice!

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

8 out of 10 kids will quit the game.

You hear that your chances of playing professionally are slim to none.

You hear that failure builds character.

Most optimists preach and advise, “fail and fail often. The more times you fail, the closer you get to success.” Just remember this quote for now and continue reading.

Kids soccer today is consumed with fear and failure is definitely in the air. You can’t help but breath it in.

My advice to you

Don’t Inhale!

Don’t be fooled by the status quo. Don’t buy into the stats. If other players quit, it has nothing to do with you. If other players don’t want to develop and play in the big leagues, it has nothing to do with you. If other players refuse to train, it has nothing to do with you. If other players fear the game, well, you get the point.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you must learn from your mistakes.” A little too simplistic for me as I try and catch a fly between my chopsticks.

What do you really learn from your mistakes? Apart from the obvious, you might learn what not to do again. That’s a good start. If you make a mistake, struggle with fitness or you’ve failed to complete a drill, do you know how to correct these? The bottom line is this, if you’ve failed, do you know how to succeed?

Try the other end of the spectrum

How about learning from what works. Forget about “fail and fail often”. When something works, you can leverage this and do it again and again. If you find success and gains through a certain passing drill, do it again and the next time, you’ll probably do it even better.

Books, magazines and the so-called gurus that preach, “fail and fail often” need to remember that failure is not a prerequisite for success. Don’t look so surprised, how do you think nature works?

Think about this for a moment, EVOLUTION doesn’t stop for past failures. Just ask the dinosaurs. Evolution, survival of the fittest builds on what works. Don’t you think you should do the same?

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars”

Are you in love with a child? Are you sure about this? Are you in love with a child that’s not yours, not genetically anyway?

A word to the wise for those that have given their hearts to the little men of this world, to the future stars of the game.

Youngsters are not normal. That sounds horrendous so let me paraphrase. Youngsters are full of energy, innocence and have not been conditioned by pecking orders, authority or anybody else pointing the finger.

Kids will fight tooth and nail for what they want. Their defiance is seen as a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia to most adults. My point is young children are a little crazy at times. They hear music that the rest of us don’t.

Have you ever tried to put a hyperactive four year old to bed? Have you tried to brush their teeth whilst trying to stop them from eating the toothpaste?

A young child wants what he wants, now. No doubt about it. But is this a bad thing? Demanding want you want makes perfect sense, don’t you think?

That’s why we must exercise patience. Youngsters are driven by forces they don’t understand and cannot control leaving us to walk the tight rope over a 1,000 frustrations and sighs.

Do we seek proximity to discipline and the need to control? Are we intoxicated by the power to produce robots with no emotions or character? Remember, wild horses will gallop, bulls will stampede and wolves will howl.

Kids will seek and destroy. Kids will fight authority. Kids will grit their teeth. Kids will punch the air in defiance and will never surrender. Makes you wonder why we stopped being kids. Have we surrendered to the status quo? Are we raising children that will inevitable add to the status quo?

Here’s a thought

Don’t look to change your child. Harness the mischief, the energy and direct it towards the soccer field. Harness the mo. For those that aren’t hip or tech savvy, mo is momentum.

Momentum is cumulative; it builds and increases with repetition. Instead of controlling your children let them run wild on the soccer pitch. Let them exhaust every ounce of energy they have and let them pursue soccer immortality.

Trying to control your child while watching the tube or drinking beer deserves the anarchy you’ll receive. It’s time for accountability, so grab your hats and wear them. A father, a friend, a coach, an anarchist and a plan to take over the world.

Start with passing, shooting, it doesn’t really matter, just START! Introduce the anarchist (your child) to sustained effort (training) and the soccer world awaits. Turn the beautiful game into a heroic challenge.

Your love and attention will create self-motivation and self-validation. Your child will direct his energy towards the game and will inevitable stop eating the toothpaste.

If we fast forward 10 years from now I can guarantee you “Mater Chef” is no more. Those fat food critics have become a suppressed memory that only surface through trauma or weird flashbacks.

The Year 2020

It’s 2020 and you’re 100 meters in the air. The smell of smoke irritates your nose but you don’t mind. The orange smoke clears and you remove your scarf from your face. As the 80,000 capacity sits down you catch a glimpse of your son looking at you as if to say, thank you for this life. A tear escapes your eye as you think of the hours you put into training and into the MO. The San Siro stadium is now your home.

Lightning Strikes

There’s usually a moment, isn’t there.

When something happens.

The lightning strikes and nothing is ever the same.

Well, this is you’re lightning bolt. Strip away your self doubt and self-delusions and kick the ball around with your child. I’m sure the fat food critics will be just fine without you.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”