Ultra Soccer

Great win tonight!

This message that I received tonight is why I love being a coach!

Seriously....thank you for giving Payton this confidence. She used her futsal skills to juke the girl that's falling down. I appreciate it as her dad but she appreciates it more than you know. As you say...."creative".

This has been my coaching philosophy for a long time. I do receive criticism for letting my girls just play the sport freely but I have found they play alot better and really start to love the sport again.

Today I had a beautiful conversation with a 15 yo player who had an excellent performance in her tournament yesterday.

The reason why she played so well is because her conditions allowed her to believe that the game didn’t matter, and whatever anyone thought about her performance did not matter. Therefor freedom emerged, and her natural abilities shined through.

These "conditions" were not typical.

The "typical conditions" that she’s used to causes her to fear judgement and worry about outcomes. These "typical conditions" hinder her performances.

Through conversation we both agreed that she is incredible powerful, skillful, and able to achieve greatness. We both agreed that it is the fear of judgment that is preventing her from letting go to allow those natural abilities to shine through.

My estimate is that majority of players deal with this.

The Truth is:

*To grow and evolve is inevitably painful - & Success comes with judgement.

Players who can understand this, accept this, and are prepared to handle this - will see freedom emerge & their greatness shine through.

At the highest level in sports, the difference between the goods and the greats is what we’re talking about here - it’s not about who can juggle more, or who’s physically faster.
It’s about the ability to be 100% pure and true to yourself, and the ability to process the pressure and judgement that comes from others.

The best players in the word are constantly criticized. They handle it with grace.
If your player has a game today - encourage them to play freely, and let go of fear of judgement.

Tell them that they are great and that you believe in them.