Preparation for a big soccer game
So, how do you prepare your players for the biggest game of their lives so far?
We play in a few hours, we play the semi final of our conference tournament at home in front of the biggest crowd of our careers…..
Last night we gave them the night off from practice so that they would be rested and refreshed for today. Instead of a practice we brought them in and had a light hearted team meeting. No tactics, no strategies, no team talk.
We sat them down, asked them how they felt and asked them to share with the team answers to the following questions:
How do you feel?
What has been your high point of the season so far and why?
What has been the high point of the season for the team and why?
What lessons have you learned this season about yourself and about how to play the game?
What advice do you have for your teammates?
How are you preparing?
What are you thinking about?
The players really opened up and it was great to hear them express their feelings and their lessons learned. This exercise really calmed them down and helped them to relax. It also helped bring them closer as well, once they opened up their was less of the testostrone and more relating to each other.
We left the meeting relaxed and raring to go.
We report tonight at 5pm for a 7.30pm kick off. Yes, we will be doing the practical stuff like taping, getting changed, warming up etc. We will also has some quiet time to focus on the season so far as well as to give thoughts about tonight’s game. We will watch a dvd of goals and just have them relaxing and hanging out together. It will be lighthearted and focussed on the job at hand.
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Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 3:17 pm and is filed under 
Club Soccer, College Soccer, High School Soccer, Kids Soccer, Soccer Player Management, Youth Soccer.
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14 Responses to “Preparation for a big soccer game”
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Former player unfortunately. Freak injury has put me out of action for a year. Doubt if I will ever play again, concentrating on coaching now.
Football world…
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