Have you ever seen those parents at Soccer who don’t speak to each other? They’re not fighting or anything, they’re just sad and grumpy.

What about at the movies?

You’re in line to see a show and there are hundreds of teenagers who look like they’ve made boredom and wasting time their life’s work.

Are you like that?

Are you bored, numb and perhaps even cynical?

Let me paint a picture. Do you remember your first training session? Do you remember your first goal? How about your first visit to the movies?

What do you remember?

Could it be excitement? Excitement that strong that it could shatter even the thickest of glass. What about hopes and dreams? Barcelona wasn’t a dream but just a matter of time.

We had not learnt that hope could set us up for the biggest of falls. After years and years of disappointment, confusion and fear comes a profound and fundamental human hope that maybe something nice will happen today.

Will the stars align and bring you luck? Who knows?

Soccer players consciously know there is no magic wand or pill, but they continue to hope for the latest gimmick to buy. Remember, players enter into situations with hope.

“I hope I make the cut”

“I hope I get signed up”

So what’s the point?

Inside every player is a little child, hoping beyond hope that their father will buy Nike or Adidas, instead of Dunlop.

Inside every player is the rebel teenager thinking that maybe, just maybe, this new pair of boots will make me a Superstar.

Inside every soccer mum is a veteran housewife whose husband hasn’t given her anything romantic for the last 3 decades, but still takes her child to training and dares to believe that maybe one day her child will grace the biggest stadiums in the world.

Inside every coach is the best player in the world that didn’t make it.

Inside every father is the treasurer, dreaming of the big payout with calculator in hand. The older he gets, the better he was.

The only thing I really hope to accomplish with this post is this, if you feel scared, shitty or even betrayed, you’re not alone. If you feel like nobody on the soccer field understands what you’re going through, you’re not the first and you definitely will not be the last.

But never lose hope!

This is for all the parents reading this, if your boss asks you to do something you probably wouldn’t respond with, “not today, I’m tired.”

Would you?

Next time your child asks you to play soccer, stop making excuses. Grab the car keys and together, begin your journey to the field of dreams.

Remember hope never leaves you, you abandon it. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s the best gift you could give a child.

Hope you have a merry Christmas.

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

Motivation is something that induces action, makes you act or react to certain circumstances. Agree? Motivation gives birth to a motive. What’s a motive you ask. A motive is the inner urge that makes you act the way that you do. It’s when you get home tired from work only to get changed and ready for training. It’s when the bills are piling up but the money you spend on your child’s training is not seen as a cost but an investment.

It’s the hope that starts as an action in an attempt to produce the desired result. Desired results may differ from players to players, but the driving force is the same. Why do you take your children to soccer? Most parents will assure me that it’s a good habit, that sports is essential for healthy living and every other diplomatic answer they can conjure up. The brutal answer is this,

Parents take their kids to soccer and hope that they become the next David Beckham or Fernando Torres. They hope they can provide the pathway to fame and fortune. To create a life for them that they did not get the opportunity to pursue. If you’re shaking your head, then you’re not being honest. Which parent in their right mind wouldn’t wish the best for their children. Which parent wouldn’t love sitting in the stands where thousands of supporters worship him and chant his name.

Soccer without a shadow of a doubt is the biggest and greatest sport in the world. It gives people that have no food, hope, that one day they can earn a living doing what they love. Big companies all over the world exploit this and try and sell products that will guarantee you soccer success. The products might work, they may not. But they are selling you the dream. They are giving you hope.

Hope is the most beautiful thing in the world. The day you give up on hope is the day you become engulfed with everyday pressures that stem from a society, so wound up that it could snap at any minute. Is that what you want for yourself and your kids? Grinding it out just to pay the bills, to make ends meet. No way. We want the lights. We want the headlines and we want to play professional soccer.

After reading this can you tell me why you attend training or allow your kids to participate in soccer? Can you see where the motivation comes from? It all comes from hope.

HOPE.

That one day, your dream, that mirage that dangles infront of you from a distance, becomes a reality.

Why is it that parents get upset at their kids when they fool around during training? When their not listening or concentrating. Is it because you want them to have fun? Or is it because you have envisioned watching your child play from the heights of the greatest stands in the world.

You attend and make your kids play because it gives you hope. It’s that small chance or percentage that could make the world of difference that motivates you.

So the question is,

How do I motivate my youngsters?

I’ll save you alot of time and suggest this, If you cannot provide the following, stop taking your children to soccer or to any other sport for that matter.

It is important to know how to motivate others in an effective manner and in a desirable direction. It’s even more important when the others are your children.

First suggestion, wait for it because its rocket science,

• Having confidence in a yougster gives him confidence in himself. Sounds easy doesn’t it. Are you doing it?

When your child feels warmth, love, safe and any other emotions they should feel from their parents, guess what? The defences are down and relaxed. He is able to stop spending emotional energy protecting himself from the percieved, possible hurts of failure. Failure? I thought your kids play soccer because it’s fun. Why would they be threatened and scared of failing.

Let your kids spend their energy chasing the dream and reaching for the probable rewards of soccer success with the aid of your confidence and support. Hmmm confidence and support. So what I’m trying to say is that you can motivate your kids, players and others by having faith in them. Faith is one of the strongest emotions because it assumes that you will succeed. Have you ever heard this,

I have faith in you son!

When you motivate others by having faith in them, then you must have active faith. You must commit your belief. You must say,

“I know you are going to succeed, so I have committed myself and others to your success. We are always here, waiting for you……..”

When you have that kind of faith in your kids, players or anyone else, they will succeed.

To finish this post I’d like to add this,

Hope gives powerful strength to mind and body. The purity of our wishes or desires is not just a means aimed at building up confidence; It is based on the utmost truth.

Hope all is well.