“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

Muhammad Ali

Enhancing your mental focus is crucial to achieving peak performance in both training and competition. The team that is stronger mentally most often wins the game. Gotham Girls FC is committed to providing its players with the highest quality coaching, incorportating the physical and mental skills of soccer that are essential for players to improve. The GGFC coaches want their players to understand that training the mind is equally important to training the body. Dribbling, passing, and trapping are examples of soccer’s physical skills. Confidence, concentration, motivation, discipline, and patience are examples of the important mental skills of soccer. Practicing these skills the same way you practice dribbling, passing, and trapping will help you build your mental strength.

Confidence is believing in yourself. What are your strengths as a soccer player? Build on them, sharpen them, turn them into your weapons. Maybe its a great shot, or an accurate long ball. You can build soccer confidence by playing to your strengths. Once you have a nice foundation of confidence you can focus on the parts of your game that need improving. Maybe your left foot needs some attention and extra practice, or maybe its attention on sending a long ball with strength and accuracy, or controlling your first touch. Working on your confidence the same way that you do soccer skills will help you grow into a fantastic player.

It is my goal as the Assistant Director of Coaching to help all of the Gotham Girls succeed personally and play soccer fearlessly. I will be posting articles that focus on building mental skills regularly. I welcome all discussions and feedback.

See you at the fields - Courtney