Most parents live on the stuff and cannot start the day without it.

Great for that instant burst of energy and the endurance needed to chase after the little ones.

So what’s the secret to coffee?

Well, unless you’ve been living on the moon, coffee’s key ingredient is Caffeine. Caffeine is known to enhance endurance and is guilty of keeping most adults up in the middle of the night.

There is also growing evidence that coffee can also improve soccer performance.

A group of scientists from New Zealand have studied the effects of caffeine on soccer players.

The mad men wearing the white coats set out to investigate the effects of caffeine in a performance test that stimulated the various demands of soccer.

The Project

22 professional (now we’re interested) male soccer players were used for the experiment.

11 players ingested caffeine (6mg per kg of body mass) and the other 11 ingested a placebo (dextrose) 60 minutes before performing the various tests.

After a week of testing, the players then changed their meds. Caffeinated players received the placebo and vice versa. * The players were not aware of the substance they were ingesting*

The Tests

Each test consisted of 7 circuits in each of two 40-minute halves with a 10-minute rest in the middle to simulate match conditions.

Measurements that were taken included

• 2 Straight-line sprints
• 3 agility sprints
• Power generation in 2 consecutive drives
• Accuracy for passing balls rapidly.

As a former science student myself, there is nothing more exiting than significant results.

The results for all drills (except for second drive power) were so positive that even the scientists raised an eyebrow.

The Results

(while picturing nerds in white coats punching the air and giving group hugs) were

• Sprint Speeds increased over all the 5 sprints ranging from 1% for 20m sprinting speed to 2.9% for tackle sprint speed.
• First drive power- 5% improvement
• Second Drive power -1.2% (negative) reduction
• Passing accuracy- wait for it, 9.6% improvement.

Looking over the findings the scientists could be heard giggling over the 10% finding like they just discovered a new dinosaur.

From the horses mouth,

“The largest and possibly most exiting new finding with caffeine was a 10% improvement in the ability to pass balls accurately while pressured to pass the ball rapidly”

WARNING!

Just a friendly warning before we all overdose on caffeine. The mechanisms behind caffeine’s apparent ergogenic effects are still not understood. However, the Kiwi’s believe it works on the central nervous system to reduce fatigue and permit a higher level of motor drive and motor skills throughout matches.

The above information was found in a medical science journal and does not construe medical advice or even soccer advice. Medical advice can only be given by a doctor, which I’m not, so this information is only intended for entertainment purposes.

Although, 10% increase is a huge result, don’t you think?

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

A common fear that young players have is that of being judged. Procrastination is used as a refuge because it effectively eliminates fear and any opportunities of being judged.

Not only that, procrastination rewards you. Young players or players that lack confidence will find refuge at the end of the line. They will only participate in training drills when they absolutely have to. Not getting involved, hiding and procrastinating reduces tension and eliminates all pressures by simply not getting involved in something they view as hard, painful or even threatening.

The more painful soccer is for you, the more you will try to seek relief through avoidance. Am I on the right track here? Does this sound familiar? I know it happens because I was exactly the same when I was playing.

The more relief you receive from avoidance, the greater chance you have of getting involved in more pleasurable activities. For example, it’s a winter’s night or day and its freezing. You know you need to train but you procrastinate and wait for the cold to pass. While you’re at home you will either turn on the TV, PlayStation or crack open a cold can depending on your age and situation. Over 95% of players reading this will have succumb to the lure of leisure rather than train when it’s uncomfortable. This isn’t a problem if you play the sport for leisure. It’s nice to have a large variety of leisure activities.

What if you want to play professionally? What happens when your kids want to play in the big leagues?

If you answered yes to the above questions let me further the interrogation. Do you like being under pressure or do you like the feeling of anxiety or stress? If you do can you please send me an email and tell me your secrets. In exchange I’ll give you the location of the Loch ness Monster.

Most soccer players are addicted to procrastinating. What better way to relieve yourself of pressures and anxiety that relate to soccer by not doing it at all. Not only do you use procrastination to cope with fears, but you also get rewarded for it.

The problem starts with certain clichés that get thrown around. Have you heard “I am what I do”? What a load of bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, there is some truth to this but you should never validate clichés like this one. By believing in a statement like this, you indirectly agree that a judgment of your soccer ability is a judgment of yourself. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Could this be the reason why you hide at the back of the lines at training? Could this be the reason why you refuse to cross the ball in with your opposite foot or should I say your weaker foot? Could this be the reason why you fear judgment when you play soccer? Soccer is not a game designed to validate you as a person. Have you ever watched Christiano Ronaldo play soccer? Next time you watch him, count how many mistakes he makes during the game. Chances are he will make the most mistakes by a significant number. Is he still the best player in the world? Absolutely! Is he a good person with caring attributes, couldn’t tell you.

The point is that soccer is a sport played by millions all over the world and has a pecking order based on playing ability. Playing ability will vary depending on your commitment. The game will never judge you as a person. So why fear it? Make mistakes, play with freedom and most importantly enjoy the game. Stop procrastinating and stop making excuses.

Great players make mistakes all the time. If you don’t make mistakes it simply means you’re not trying or you’re procrastinating. Ronaldo doesn’t hide at the back in training. He demands the ball, he wants the ball and he wants to make mistakes. For every stroke of genius he displays you will easily count 10 mistakes. Even the most critical coaches and supporters will forgive you if you try and make mistakes. But if they sense you are hiding, scared or procrastinating they will unleash a great fury of resentment towards you. Think about that next time you decide to hide or procrastinate.

For all those who have found refuge in procrastination here’s a thought from yours truly. Did I procrastinate when I was young? Yes I did! Was I rewarded by other leisurely activities? Yes I was. But think about this next time you decide to miss training or avoid working on your game. Can I go out drinking with my friends now, yes I can. Can I play Xbox or PlayStation now, yes I can. Can I chase exotic women from all over the world, I can try. But can I still play soccer at the highest level? No I cannot!

Procrastination will only lead to old age. Old age will only lead to your retirement. So the take home message for the day is, “Please don’t find refuge in Procrastination”.

The real truth and the lesson I’m constantly drumming out of this site is that there is only one person responsible for your soccer success. Don’t hesitate to guess, let’s hear them. Is it the coach? Is it your manager? Is it your parents? The only person responsible for your success in soccer is you. That reflection that stares back at you when you look into the monitor while reading this, that’s right, that person is you.

If you want that elusive contract, want to play seniors or just simply want to improve your game, you need to take responsibility for everything that you have experienced so far. This includes your fitness levels, your strength, your motivation, your skills and the list goes on. Can you do it? Can you make yourself accountable and 100% responsible for all your soccer failures and successes?

It’s not easy is it? Everybody and I mean everybody has been conditioned through experiences to blame someone or something. When things go wrong, we blame our parents, our coaches, our supporters, our friends, our partner, the weather and most times the playing surface. Right there is a great snapshot of my soccer career. Always making excuses or blaming someone else. The truth is we never want to look at where the real problem is. The sad thing is you don’t even need to search for the problem because most of the times it’s you. Sounds harsh doesn’t it, but prove me wrong.

Do you really want to become that soccer player you’ve dreamt of? Are you willing to pay the ultimate price to get there? If you want to become that star player, the next Ronaldo, then you are going to have to take 100% responsibility for your life. This means giving up all your excuses, all those injury stories, all the reasons why you can’t, why you haven’t and all those outside influences and circumstances. You have to give them up forever. Can you do this? Sorry if I laugh because I don’t believe you.

What position are you in?

“I play midfield” you insist.

That’s not the position I’m talking about. You have to take the position that you have always had the power to take. To make things different, to practice and get it right, to score goals and get the desired results. Why haven’t you taken this position or stance already? Could it be that you’re scared? Could it be that you’re just a pretender with big pipe dreams?

For whatever reason you chose not to exercise that power. Who knows why? Only you do! But that doesn’t matter. The past is the past and it makes for a great sob story. Wait let me get some tissues for you. All that matters now is that from this point forward you choose, that’s right it’s a choice to take 100% responsibility for everything that happens to you during your soccer journey.

So next time you get benched, don’t make the squad, get delisted, you will ask yourself,

• Why did this happen?
• What was I thinking?
• What was I lacking?
• What did I say or not say?
• How did I get the coach to act that way?
• What do I need to do differently next time?

Can you see and feel the difference? It’s always about you, not someone else.

Blaming someone or something is a waste of time. No matter how much fault or blame you have for someone else and regardless how much you blame him, it will not change you or your situation. Concentrate on the I’s and the rest will fall into place.

Soccer like any other sport has a positive and a negative side. Our competitive nature which strives for perfection can be seen as a positive. But for every positive, there must be a negative. While players strive to become the best (positive), many players that don’t succeed will start to show negative attributes. These attributes come in the form of cheating, becoming a bad loser, fighting amongst team mates and if left unattended will manifest into provocation, verbal and physical abuse. Have you ever seen a player spit on his direct opponent?

So how do we use our competitive nature to our advantage? Do we focus our competitiveness towards our opposition? This is clearly better than competing amongst your team mates isn’t?

The only problem with directing your competitiveness towards your opposition is that your opponent or opposition will dictate how you feel. This is not a good thing! Let’s use a few scenarios to illustrate this.

Your playing the bottom team and your team is clearly superior. You end up winning the match 3-0  and your individual performance was sensational. How do you feel? The chances are you feel fantastic, full of confidence and you start to dream of winning the league. Sound familiar? But what happens when the team you are playing is superior? You feel a sense of defeat and become deflated while simultaneously losing all your confidence and self-esteem as the score board reads 3-0 at half time. Surely this one sounds familiar? So how do we deal with defeat?

If the score board reads 3-0 at half time this will inevitably take your mind off what you are trying to achieve in Soccer or simply why you play the game. The score line will also make you fear your opponent, create anxiety and create an avalanche of pressure that will eventually break you. Remaining focused and relaxed is impossible as you continually chase your opponents shadow.

Can you see the problem? When you direct your competitiveness towards your direct opponent or opposition, the way you feel and perform is dictated by your opponent. Why would you ever want to do this? If you continue to direct your competitiveness towards your opponent guess what will happen in the long run? You will start to select your opponents at training and even line up against the weaker players in a match. Why? The answer is simple, you want to ensure that you finish the match a winner. You want to feel confident and you would like to place another secure layer around your ego.

Choosing opponents or becoming the “Big Fish in a small pond” is the best way to guarantee failure. If you are guilty of doing this, stop it right now. Don’t play against weaker opponents if you have a choice. Test yourself, stretch yourself and try to play against better players. Playing against better players is the only way to significantly improve your soccer performance. If you spent a year training at Arsenal with Arsene Wegner you would become a better player than if you were the best player in your local team. Even if you were the worst player at Arsenal the benefits would easily surpass that of the local team. Can you see the bigger picture?

Winners or players that have set soccer goals avoid the pain associated with poor performance and defeat. They use performance and defeat as a challenge and a way of keeping themselves motivated. They push themselves and create new, higher levels of soccer performance. Don’t be afraid of someone that is better than you, learn from them and compete against them. Eventually you will become just like them. You can only improve by playing against better players even if you suffer more defeats than victories.

The best bit of advice I can offer is this, enjoy the challenge and really test your capabilities. Enjoy the challenge of seeing how good YOU CAN BE! Always compete against yourself in order to be the best you can be. By doing this you eliminate any negative pressure and allow yourself to play freely. When you suffer defeat, you will be gracious and will be grateful as your opponent provides you with a measuring tool to study your own progress.

At the end of the day all pressure is Self Imposed. Taking a penalty kick in the park is exactly the same as taking a penalty kick in the world cup. Same distance, same goal dimension and the same ball dynamics. The pressure is in your mind, you create it.

Next time you’re at training, take your competitive nature and apply it. Step up and mark the best player, take responsibility and have self belief in your own playing ability. If you do not improve, build confidence and practice against the best, you’ll never win anything.

On a personal level, if you go into a match expecting to play like rubbish, the chances of you under performing are high. As a coach, if you lack the confidence and the trust of the players, more than likely your team will be defeated in every match. As a parent, if you install the fear in your child of not playing well, then chances are that your child will succumb to these pressures. However, if you go into a match expecting to have fun and play to the best of your abilities, you will! This is nothing new its based on the Mind-Body Connection.

The rest of this post will focus on you. “You” can represent you as the player, the coach or the soccer parent. The information provided here is very generic and can be applied to various situations and circumstances. Now that we’ve established the ground rules, lets get started….

If you go into a game situation and you are telling yourself things like

• This team is so good we are going to lose.
• I feel tired.
• I feel lousy.
• I’m out of form and played terribly last game.
• What happens if i make another mistake.

What do you think the outcome will be after all these negative thoughts? If your a betting man you’d bet that the same negative outcomes will occur. Lets try and dissect this phenomenon and investigate why this is so common amongst players at all levels.

When you continually feed yourself these negative thoughts, this is what is beginning to happen inside your body. Your muscles are beginning to tighten up, your breathing is becoming faster and shallower, your heart and pulse rate are increasing and you begin to lose circulation to your hands and feet. Do you think your body is ready to perform at its peak? The result of this negativity is

• Your reflexes and foot speed slow down. This is caused by the tight muscles.
• Your basic movements become less fluid and awkward. Once again this is attributed to the muscles tightening up.
• You lose your feel for the ball. This is caused by the lack of circulation to your hands and feet.
• and finally your endurance suffers. Even if you are match fit and conditioned, your breathing pattern of short and rapid breaths will not allow you to compete at your best.

So can you tell me the difference between your best game and your worst game? (I’m assuming that the fitness levels of your game have been reached and that you have been conditioned for matches). The difference between your best games and your worst games is “upstairs”. The mental side of your game is extremely important. Your mental strategies, which are your thoughts, self affirmations and self image before your best games are very different than the ones that you use before your worst games.

You might agree with the above, but now your wondering how you can implement this information. The following exercises are designed so that you can discover your “inner coach”.

Exercise 1: Review your best Performances.

Go to your favourite place in the house where its quiet and free from distractions. Get comfortable and close your eyes and think about the last time you had a great game and the last time when you believed that you were a great player. Use your imagination and revisit this moment and see, hear and feel everything that went on in this match that made it so special.

• Focus on what happened before the game. How did you feel? What were you thinking? Were you looking forward to the match? Did you visualise any of the match before the game? What was your “inner coach” telling you before the match? What were you concentrating on before the match?
• What was going through your head while you were playing? What kind of self-talk were you aware of? How did you react to a mistake or when you were beaten by an opponent? What did you say to yourself when you made these mistakes?
• What happened to you after the match? How did you feel?

Exercise 2: Review your worst Performances.

Go to your favourite place in the house where its quiet and free from distractions. Evaluate your worst game using the same questions used above. If you spend a little time with these exercises you will soon see how your play is directly related to “what you think”, before and during the game. Games are won and lost before they even start. When was the last time you were mentally taken out of the game because you got psyched out by the other team, another player or by the size of the crowd?

Exercise 3: Comparing Good and Bad Performances.

The first 2 exercises should help you understand that good and bad performances are not random, but are directly related to your mindset. If you enter a match worried and stressed your play will reflect this. When you make mistakes during the game, you will have a tendency to hang onto these mistakes and bring yourself down even further. Conversely, if you go into a game with positive self talk and optimistic thoughts, you will perform much closer to your potential. You will quickly rebound from your mistakes and they will have no adverse effect on your play. Remember, all players make mistakes, its how quickly you bounce back from the set back that counts.

The purpose of these exercises is to provide you with an awareness of your before and during the game mental strategies. It is the awareness that will help you make the necessary changes to become a mentally tough player. Without awareness you will not be able to change negative or self defeating thoughts or behaviours. Instead, you will become another victim to them.

AWARENESS IS THE KEY TO CHANGE.

Let me just repeat that, “Awareness is the key to change.”

Its time for an example: Lets say you are having trouble controlling the ball with one touch. Change and improvement to this problem can only occur after you become aware of the problem. Once you can feel, see and understand the mistake, only then can you rectify it. This same principle applies to your mental game. You must first get to know your negative thoughts related to your performance before you can change them. If you do not play to your potential against certain teams or opponents you must become aware of how you mentally sabotage yourself in these situations before you can correct the problem.

As a player, coach or a parent it is critical that you do not underestimate the power of your “inner coach”.