A large part of the Soccer Mindset program focuses on Self-Knowledge, 10 weeks to be exact! This is the largest section of our 1-on-1 program for good reason. It’s vital for you as a soccer player (and as a person) to know your strengths and weaknesses and to know your common thoughts- which ones help you bring out your best and which ones hold you back.
For example, what offensive situations do you feel comfortable in, what are your go to moves to beat the last defender, what is your favorite shot, what are your best technical skills, etc.
Knowing yourself as a soccer player will allow you to feel more confident going into games and will allow you to focus on what you are going to do rather than what your opponent is going to do.
The concept of self-knowledge is closely related to the concept of a predator-prey mindset. If you recall, predators are focused on what they are doing while the prey is focused on everyone and everything else around him or her.
As it applies to soccer, the predator player is focused on what he or she does best and the prey player is worried about what the opponent may or may not do. Without adequate knowledge of yourself, it is impossible to have a predator mindset.
How can you focus on offense, if you don’t know your best skill moves, shots, and passes? Without proper knowledge of yourself you will be forced into the prey mindset by default.
We place an emphasis on self-knowledge because when you understand your best skills, you can have stronger confidence in your abilities and your capacity to beat anyone. When you understand the areas where you are strong you can focus on yourself rather than worrying about what your opponent may do!