Mental strength

by Foluso
(London,England)

One problem I have when playing football is that I don't have that mental strength on the pitch. I’ve had this problem since I started playing football:

I was on the right back. An attacker charging towards me, another behind me. He tried to pass to his teammate but I sharply intercepted the pass.

I quickly ran with the ball from the defense. Right there in front of me was a defender. He looked very scary and it was like and it was like he was going to seriously damage me. I was shaking and was just standing there. The defender pressured me into kicking the ball out on the right wing area.

At first I thought to myself "I'm so great. I was pacing that pitch. But soon I realized "Why did I just stop there." I still regret what happened on that pitch at that moment.

I just had one problem:

Lack of confidence

I was so pressured that I just stood there. I just didn't have that pitch cool.

Solution:
Find out where you need to be and work hard at getting there. On offense, look for enough space. On defense, look where the opponent is going. Talk out loud to your teammates; it will help you and them.

Don’t worry about what you look like, focus on the game. When you have mud covering your leg and your hair is hanging on the wrong side that's when you look like a REAL soccer player!!!Go out and play the very best you can, always. That way you'll never feel guilty. Remember that it is YOUR game.