FineSoccer Kids 20

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's subject will address having a bad day.

I was involved in a training session this afternoon and one of our better players was having a terrible day. Most of his passes were a tad too early or a tad too late. Or, his pass was a yard too far in front of his intended target or a yard behind. The more he tried to do things, the worse he seemed to get. His problem wasn't lack of effort or lack of attempted focus. To be honest with you, I really don't know what his problem was but I did know how to help him.

In many cases when a player is having a bad day, the coach starts to yell at him in order to "make" him do better. Instead of doing this, I called the player to the side and simply asked him to try to simplify his game. Once he realized he wasn't going to be yelled at, he relaxed some and took my advice. The very next time he received the ball, he saw an opportunity to try to hit a long diagonal ball that might work but would require a perfect pass. Rather than doing this, he decided to hit a simple ball to an open player (who was able to make an early serve that resulted in a goal). As soon as this happened, the player who had been struggling realized that when all else fails, try something simple. The rest of the training session he looked simple first and played much better.

This is a great lesson to learn for any players. When you are having a rough time (whether it be in a game or training session) look to simplify things and work yourself back into a rhythm. This is true for an individual player or an entire team.

The neat thing about getting out of a slump by playing simple is not only will it help you regain your confidence but the truth of the matter is, sometimes simple is the truly the best way to play.

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Have a great day!

Lawrence