Practicing soccer can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience, but sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated. It’s easy to get discouraged or overwhelmed when you don’t see immediate results. But with a little bit of dedication, you can stay motivated and make great progress in your soccer skills.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to motivate yourself to practice soccer and develop your skills. We’ll look at some tips and in the end, we will also answer some of the most frequently asked questions about how to stay motivated.
Tips on how to motivate yourself to practice soccer
Change you company
An American entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This means that how you think and how you act are directly influenced by the people around you.
If you have friends that are passionate about soccer, it can be the best thing ever. Having someone to practice with will make the whole process more fun and you won’t get bored that easily.
On the other hand, If your friends are not enthusiastic about practicing soccer, they are more likely to take away your motivation. The solution is simple, change the company you keep and find some active soccer players to practice with. I know changing your company can be difficult, but it is worth it.
If you can not leave them completely, you should reduce the time you spend with them. Make new friends that are just as passionate about soccer as you are. Having friends that love soccer will automatically keep your motivation alive.
I would recommend joining a soccer team near you, as this will be a great way to socialize and make friends that share the same interests.
Create a training plan
Let’s be realistic, any soccer player can not practice soccer all the time even the best players in the world can not. With that said you should’ve got many other tasks that can’t be neglected. For example your studies or job.
The best way to do all these tasks on time without getting bored is to create a plan. In that plan, you should include all your everyday tasks like studies, and jobs, also don’t forget to mention how much time you can spare to practice soccer. A minimum of an hour and a maximum of two hours will be more than enough.
This way you will get a small time frame that you can use to practice soccer with full pace and energy. This will be much more effective than playing for a long time and being bored. You won’t need any motivation to stay in that plan because you will already get a specific time to practice soccer.
For me, this trick works great, and I never miss any practice sessions. In fact, I eagerly wait for the training session every day. I usually practice soccer just an hour before sunset. This is the time of the day when I’m done with all other stuff and just focus on soccer.
You can choose your favorite time slot and create a plan accordingly. It’s better to align your time with your friends so that you can practice together and have some fun, If not you can always practice alone.
Set goals
Setting goals can be a great way to keep your motivation alive. Without a goal, it’s hard to stay motivated in the long run. You should identify what you want to achieve in your soccer practice and create clear, measurable targets that will help you track your progress. Having specific goals can help you focus your training and give you a sense of purpose, making it more motivating to practice.
For example, instead of simply saying “I want to get better at soccer,” you could set a goal like “I want to improve my ball control by 50% over the next three months by practicing drills for 30 minutes every day.” This goal is specific (ball control), measurable (50% improvement), and has a time frame (three months). By breaking down your goal into specific targets, you can track your progress and see how far you’ve come, which can be very motivating.
Another example could be: I want to be able to shoot a ball from 35 yards in 6 out of 10 tries. This goal is specific, measurable, and time-bound. This way you can measure your progress and adjust your practices accordingly.
Reward yourself
One of the best ways to get motivated is by rewarding yourself after achieving a goal. This will give you a positive reinforcement to work hard and reach the next level quickly. Make small goals and reward yourself when you achieve them.
It can be anything like a new pair of soccer cleats or a new jersey. Even a small positive reinforcement like having a feast with your friends or watching your favorite movie can be very effective in motivating you to practice soccer.
You will also feel more satisfied with yourself when you achieve something. This feeling of accomplishment will give you the energy and boost to practice soccer even more.
Watch videos of skills
I have no words for how motivating it can be to watch how the pros do it. Watching how they perform and how easily they control the ball, how they pass, and how they score goals can be a great motivation to practice soccer.
You can watch how your favorite players perform and try to imitate their moves. This way you can learn how they do it and how you can improve your own skills. Youtube has a ton of videos, I would recommend you watch skills with songs, this can give you next-level motivation.
I personally watch Cristiano Ronaldo’s skills with different songs and that gives me great inspiration to practice and learn how to do those awesome tricks.
Visualize success
Visualization is a technique where you imagine yourself performing a certain task successfully. You get to see how it will feel when you achieve that goal.
Most players underestimate the power of visualization. But this can be a great way to stay focused and motivated to practice harder. You should always visualize how you want your future to look like. Dream how you want to be the best player in your team and how much success it will bring.
This visualization will keep you motivated to practice and will help you keep pushing yourself even when things get tough. It’s very important to stay positive and motivated during soccer practices so that you can achieve the success you desire.
You can even visualize yourself doing different skills and how you will perform them correctly. Let me explain that by giving you an example.
If you are practicing how to shoot the ball with your left foot and score, then imagine you are playing against the best team in the league, and you scored with your left foot. Imagine yourself in slow motion how you hit the ball with your left foot and how it went into the goal.
This kind of visualization will give you the motivation to practice even more and you will start believing more in yourself because you can imagine how you can achieve that goal.
Find a role model
Surrounding yourself with positive influences can be very effective in keeping you motivated. Find a soccer player you admire and can look up to. This person could be someone you already know, like an older sibling or a coach, or it could be someone famous like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Whatever you choose, having a role model can help keep you focused and motivated to practice soccer.
You can learn how your role model became successful and how he or she practices. This will motivate you to work hard and stay focused on achieving your goals because you want to become like them.
All the big young players you see today had role models they looked up to. Kylian Mbappé idolized Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar looked up to Ronaldinho. So it’s important to have someone you can look up to and learn how they practice soccer so that you can be motivated to practice harder.
I use to watch Cristiano Ronaldo’s skills videos on youtube before going to practice soccer. And after watching his videos, I felt motivated to practice even harder and do better.
Enjoy the game
One reason why you are not motivated to practice soccer could be that you don’t enjoy it. It could be you are not enjoying the position you are playing or you don’t like how the team is performing.
Whatever the reason might be, it’s important to enjoy the game. Do what you enjoy in soccer. If you like dribbling, then practice how to do it better and perfect it. If you like shooting the ball then practice how to shoot and how to score.
Enjoying the game is essential in staying motivated because it’s what keeps you engaged and focused on the practice. Experiment with different drills and exercises that you enjoy, or try to make your practice more game-like by incorporating small-sided games and competitions.
Use motivational music
Everyone has their own music preference when It comes to songs. If you don’t have the motivation to practice soccer, you can play some motivational music in the background or on headphones.
Music can lift your mood and help you stay motivated to practice soccer because it can distract you from how hard it can be. When you hear uplifting lyrics and a good beat, it can take your motivation to another level.
This trick is commonly used in gyms, there you will find people playing motivating music loudly. So if you find it hard to stay motivated while practicing, try playing some motivating music and see how it goes.
Track your progress
You may feel like you are not progressing and that can make you feel unmotivated. So to keep motivated and stay focused, it is important to track how much you have improved. During practice, you should make a list of small objectives that you want to achieve.
When you accomplish those objectives, write them down so you can look back and see how much progress you have made. This will help keep your motivation levels high. You can take videos of yourself practicing and compare them with the previous ones. This will help you see how you have progressed and how much better you are becoming and eventually you can take motivation from that progress.
It’s also important to reward yourself after every milestone or achievement because it will motivate you even more. It doesn’t have to be a big reward, something small like a treat or going out with friends will do the trick.
Remind yourself why you love soccer
Sometimes, when you feel unmotivated or don’t have the energy to practice soccer, it’s a good time to remind yourself why you love the game. Think about why you started playing soccer in the first place and how much joy and satisfaction it gives you when you play.
This will give you the motivation to practice soccer and stay focused. You can also remind yourself how much progress you have made in the past and how far you have come. By doing this, you can keep your motivation levels high and stay focused on achieving your goals.
Get a coach or mentor
Having a coach or mentor is important when trying to stay motivated while practicing soccer. A mentor can help you set goals and push you to achieve them. They can also give you the advice and encouragement needed to stay focused and motivated while practicing soccer.
The best part about having a mentor is that they will identify how much progress you have made and how hard you have worked. This will make all your efforts worthwhile and give you the motivation to practice and get better.
Get proper rest and recovery
One reason why don’t have the motivation to practice soccer is usually that you are overworked and feel exhausted. When you are tired, it can be hard to stay motivated to practice soccer. So it’s important to get proper rest and recovery after every practice session.
Make sure you are eating healthy food so you have the energy you need to practice soccer, taking enough rest, and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. This will help you stay focused during your practice sessions and keep the motivation alive.
Reasons why you feel unmotivated to practice soccer
There could be a few different reasons why you feel unmotivated to practice soccer. For one, it could be because you do not have specific goals. It could be due to you don’t have the support of your family. It could also be due to you are feeling tired. Finally, it could be because you are not seeing the progress you want.
The important thing is to identify the source of your lack of motivation and take steps to address it. You can try some of the tips mentioned above or talk to someone who understands how you feel and can offer advice. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is something that works for you and helps keep your motivation levels high.
What should I do if I can’t motivate myself to practice soccer?
Even after applying the tips above, if you still can’t motivate yourself to practice soccer, it’s important to take a step back and reassess your situation. Ask yourself did you really love soccer? Do you have a passion for the game?
If the answer is no, then you should try something else that you are passionate about instead. But If you love soccer and you have the passion, then it’s important to find other ways of motivating yourself. Talk to people who understand how you feel and see how they stay motivated while practicing soccer.
How often should I practice soccer?
How often you practice soccer depends on how experienced and how dedicated you are to the game. If you are just starting out, then you should practice a few hours a week. As you get more experienced, you can practice up to several times a week and even once or twice a day if you are competing at a higher level.
No matter how often you practice, it’s important to make sure that you take your time and do not rush through the process. I personally practice every day for two hours before sunset.
Conclusion
Now you know how to motivate yourself to practice soccer. It’s important to understand the reasons why you are not feeling motivated and then take the necessary steps to address them.
Get a coach or mentor, get proper rest and recovery, and find ways to stay passionate about soccer. Finally, how often you practice soccer depends on how experienced and how dedicated you are to the game.
Post you may like
