Being Ready When Your Opportunity Comes: Part One I #AskASoccerPro Show Ep. 052
Welcome back to the #AskASoccerPro Show! I’m currently at CES 2020 (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, NV to see the latest in tech and do some networking along with Earl Edwards! We are having a blast here and it was great to be able to record the #AskASoccerPro Show in such a great venue!
To add to the excitement, our guest this week was none other than my sister, Kristen Amarikwa! Kristen called into the show to break down the mentality of a future pro and help me discuss the theme of the week: being ready when your opportunity comes.
If you missed this week’s episode, here’s some of what we talked about:
- Hello from CES!
- Being Ready When your Opportunity Comes
- The Top Three Skills to Go Pro
- Working on Skills Alone
- Expect the Unexpected
- Following Up with Coaches
Make sure to catch the replay if you missed the live. Don’t forget, I go live on Instagram every Thursday at 6 pm PST/ 9 pm EST to answer your questions!
Being Ready When Your Opportunity Comes
Since 2020 is all about the vision, we are making sure everybody’s coming correct! Our theme this week really seems to align with what’s going on, and that is being ready when your opportunity comes!
Are you ready?
Personally, I think us being able to record our #AskASoccerPro episode in a back studio at CES, is our opportunity. We’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this to come for a while and we’re here making it happen!
See, hard work pays off in the long run. If you do the work, don’t make excuses, take advantage of opportunities when they come, and are willing and open to seeing opportunities - even if they are opportunities others aren’t able to see.
What does it mean to be ready when opportunity comes and how do we prepare for future opportunities?
Let me give you an example. You all see me going live here from eSports Arena last minute, and I’m ready to go. I’ve got my backpack, I’ve got my merch, my backup batteries, everything I could need. Now, maybe no one cares about what all this represents right now, but it’s because they don’t understand what it is yet.
If I allow myself to make the excuse that no one will care, and I don’t make my business cards, I don’t bring any merch with me, I don’t talk to people about what I’m doing and learn what they’re doing, then even though opportunities are going to present themselves, I’m not going to be able to recognize them when they do or capitalize on them when they happen!
Being ready when your opportunity comes is more important and even a higher priority than having an opportunity, because, what good does having an opportunity do you if you’re not able to capitalize on it?
A big reason people aren’t able to capitalize on opportunities is that they might not have much confidence. Now, we’ve talked a lot in the past about the importance of getting in reps. Building confidence is very similar.
Confidence is a skill, and like a muscle, you can build a skill and increase your ability to use the skill over time. The more consistent you are with practicing the skill (putting in the reps) over time, the more your confidence will build. It takes practice, and you’re not going to be perfect right out of the blocks, but you can set yourself up for success.
The Top Three Skills to Go Pro
I’m sure it will come as no surprise, but the top item on my list to go pro is to master mentality. Second on my list is first touch and technical ability, and third would be soccer IQ. I believe if you master these three things, you’re going to be able to go pro. Even if you’re not athletic, fast, or particularly fit, you can get by with those three things.
A really great mentality, first touch and ball control, and soccer IQ, and tactical awareness will take you really far. I mean, the mentality piece alone would probably lead you to being someone who is fit and knows how to take care of themselves. Why I say mentality is number one on the list and the highest priority is that almost everything else will take care of itself if you develop the right habits.
I think an important thing to point out as well Is that just because there is always more to learn, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be confident in what you know and be scared to try something new. You shouldn’t make excuses or wait until things are perfect to take action, because waiting until something is perfect is just a different form of procrastination.
Remember, if you’re doing anything different, difficult, or that you simply haven’t done before, you’re not going to do it perfectly the first time. So, if you’re idea is always to be perfect, let it go, it’s not going to happen. We can always strive for perfection, but we can’t attain it.
Following Up with Coaches
Following up with coaches is essential to your career development. I think you should contact them frequently and keep them updated whenever you have new news to share.
I would caution you against saying, “Hey, I’m just reaching out,” but rather would advise you to reach out with purpose. Having a reason to reach out is more effective and efficient.
Here is a sample of how I would personally follow up with a coach:
Hi Coach Mike,
This is Quincy. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see my previous email that I sent over two weeks ago with a soccer resume, here’s a link to my resume for your reference.
[Link here]
I’m reaching out because I just scored a hat-trick in my last game at this tournament and my team is planning to be at another tournament, X Tournament next week.
I would like to invite you to come out and see me or ask if there’s anything I could do to facilitate the process.
Sincerely,
Quincy
So, you see that I’m giving an update on what is going on, I’m telling the coach the relevance of what is going on, and I’m directing him back to my soccer resume.
Now, if you don’t have a soccer resume, you need to create one for yourself. You can check out my resume at: www.perfectsoccerskills.com/quincycv to get a better understanding of what you need to include in your CV.
With a proper soccer CV, you can market yourself to college coaches and professional coaches.
(If you don’t want to take the time to put together your CV, my team offers a paid service where we will construct your soccer CV and website for you.)
Final Thoughts
2020 is kicking off strong! I hope that this episode of the #AskASoccerPro Show was helpful to you as you make your journey to pro. Stay tuned for part two of this article where you can read the breakdown of my interview with Kristen!