Mental Training in Soccer: The #1 Way to Gain an Edge and Level Up Your Game | Expand Your Game (2024)

Soccer players, are you ready to gain an edge on your competition and completely transform your game?! Of course you are.

Before we dive into HOW to gain this edge, here’s a question to consider: how much of soccer do you think is MENTAL? Or, how much of the game revolves around mindset and mentality? 75%? 90% Whatever your answer, it’s probably safe to say that that you chose a large number.

Now, let’s ask another question. What are you currently doing to train this part of your game?

Soccer players spend week after week practicing with their team and doing individual training to improve the technical, tactical and fitness elements of their game, but how often are players focusing on mental training in soccer? How often are they working SPECIFICALLY to expand their mental skills and level up their game in this area?

The most common answer to this question, when asked to soccer players, is something along the lines of “uggghh……” or “nothing”. And the most common reason? They don’t know HOW to do it or WHAT to do in regards to growing their mental skills. Which is exactly why we are writing this article, to help players learn how to start mental training in soccer so that they can add that edge to their game. Let’s jump in.

Not many soccer players are taking the time to work on mental skills, which is exactly why mental training in soccer is the #1 way to help you gain an edge on your competition. If you commit to training this piece of your game, you WILL have a leg up on someone who isn’t doing this work.

Why mental skills though? Why is this one of the best ways out there to gain an edge and level up your game? Well, if you were a player that had stable confidence and a really strong belief in yourself and your abilities no matter what was happening on the field, would that make you a better player? If you learned to let go of perfectionism and move past fear of failure, would that make you a better player? What about if you learned to play with more focus and composure and could handle any high pressure game situation, would that make you better?

Yes, yes and yes!

Mental training in soccer helps you get better at being able to handle tough situations, eliminate distractions and keep you head in the game – REGARDLESS of what is going on around you. Mental toughness means that YOU are in control of your game and that you know how to keep yourself in the right headspace, even when things go wrong on the field.

Mental training in soccer can be difficult. It can be hard and challenging. It can even be really weird at times (I mean breath work, talking about your feelings and journaling can be uncomfortable sometimes right?) But each and every time you do one of these hard things, you are expanding your mental performance skills, leveling up your game and getting better at soccer.

Doing hard, challenging things is what grows your mental toughness, your grit and your resiliency skills. THIS is what is going to make you stronger than the competition. THIS is your edge: being able to stay levelheaded and focused in any situation.

Here’s the thing, pressure and nerves and mistakes, none of these things are going away. The key is to be able to train the mental side of your game so that you are able to coach yourself and stay in the optimal headspace (calm, composed, levelheaded) and play your best soccer, WHILE the pressure and nerves and expectations and mistakes are all present (because again, they aren’t going away).

YOU ALSO DESERVE TO EXPERIENCE YOUR OWN GREATNESS. You deserve to be playing the best soccer of your life and enjoying every minute of it, free from the pressure, the expectations and the self-defeating mentalities that get in your way and negatively impact your performance.

Being able to play this way is one of the many benefits of mental training in soccer.

Mental training in soccer also helps players:

• understand that many of the things that plague you on the field are shared experiences (you are not alone) that you CAN do something about (meaning you are not doomed to forever have a lack of confidence and negative self-talk)

• normalize the conversation around the difficult topics of mental health, self-worth and unhealthy perfectionism in soccer so that they become less of an elephant in the room and more of a part of the conversation about the game (because they are!)

• reframe limiting beliefs and transform your soccer mindset into a healthy striving mentality

• offer new viewpoints and alternative ways of looking at repeat issues that are holding you back on the field (aka – trying new things is the best way to get new results!)

And here’s the crazy thing and WHY this can help you gain an edge on your competition, NOBODY ELSE IS DOING THIS. If you really dig in and commit to mental training in soccer, you ARE going to get ahead, simply because you are investing time and energy into a very important piece of the game that others are not.

Working on your mental skills is a big investment, yes. It takes a lot of discipline and drive and requires you to step up and take responsibility for your development. But the rewards and benefits of mental training in soccer are so BIG that if you truly decide to do this, you will benefit not just on the soccer field, but in all areas of your life. Mental skills are extremely important in regards to general wellbeing and mental health and growing these skills contributes a happier, healthier mindset on and off the pitch.

Growing the mental part of your game requires you to try new things and engage with the game on different levels than you have before. For example, starting a habit of self-reflection (after games, at the end of the week, etc.) is an exceptional way to gain self-awareness.

Another big part is paying attention to your thoughts and your self-talk. Being more intentional with your self-talk and using it in ways that are good, useful and constructive and NOT in ways that are self-defeating or negatively impact your play is a game-changer.

Changing the way you set goals is also extremely important. To really gain stable confidence and belief in yourself, you need to move away from results based expectations (winning, scoring, playing not to make mistakes) and toward objectives & goals that are completely controllable by you, every time you step foot on that pitch.

Mindfulness practices also come into play A LOT. Mindfulness practices (such as meditation and breath work) help you stay in the present moment and focus on the game in front of you. If your head is in the past replaying a mistake or in the future worrying about that goal you ‘need’ to score, you are not operating in the present moment and you cannot play your best soccer.

Making a conscious effort to focus on mental training in soccer is so important for players because THIS is where you gain an edge on your competition. When you really focus on training your mental skills and growing your mental fitness,all the elements of your game start to come together and things just start to flow on the field.

Mental training in soccer requires you to first have a foundation of self-awareness and growth-mindedness.

On the soccer field, you can improve technically, tactically and physically but without self-awareness, you won’t make an ounce of progression on the mental side of the game. It is the necessary first step for mental training in soccer.

Thisdefinition from positivepsychology.com explains self-awareness well: “Self-awareness is the ability to see yourself clearly and objectively through reflection and introspection.”Being self-aware is where you start your journey toward becoming a better soccer player. It is only when you have self-awareness that you can begin to EFFECTIVELY make changes to the mental side of your game.

The second part of your foundation is growth-mindedness, meaning must be invested in your own development and willing to put in the work. This perspective is important because mental skills work can be uncomfortable, challenging and hard – but that is also why it is so impactful and has the power to completely transform your game.

There are 3 ways to do mental training in soccer:

1. Individual work

2. Group work/Team work

3. 1:1 with a mental skills coach

Individual work means doing something like reading this blog post, doing worksheets or just in general researching the topic and finding tools you can use on your own.

Group work is work that you do with your team. For example, your soccer coach might organize a team meeting to talk about mental skills and facilitate a group discussion around the topic.

But the single, best, thing you can do though, to make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time is 1:1 training with a mental skills coach. There is literally no replacement for the value of 1:1 coaching when you are working on mental training in soccer.

There’s a lot of great resources out there to start individually training – but sometimes players just need more. Doing a deep dive into mental skills training in a 1:1 environment is a FANTASTIC way to learn, progress and grow in this area and start gaining an edge on your competition from day 1. TheMindset Mastery Academyhas helped female players completely transform their soccer mindset, expand their game and play with more confidence during the course of the 10-week program.

Mental training in soccer is surefire way to level up your game. This season, make your mental skills a priority and you will reap the benefits. Not only will you be playing better soccer, you’ll be having more fun and you’ll feel much better about your ability to handle the high expectations and pressure that come with playing at elite levels.

Then, when a high pressure situation comes up and you CAN mentally handle it, while everyone around you can’t – take a look around. You have a huge advantage right now. An advantage you’ve worked very hard to get. An advantage you’ve gotten through mental training in soccer. Staying calm, composed and levelheaded while everyone else struggles to regulate themselves? That’s what we’re talking about, that’s what will set you apart.

Are you ready to get YOUR mental edge?

This post has been amended and expanded from the original version, which was written by Jenn for Girls Soccer Network and published on August 4, 2022. You can read ithere.