Have you asked your coaches for feedback?

asked your coaches for feedback

 

 

Self Initiative is not just what soccer players need, but what people need if they ever want to grow and achieve their dreams. A lot of people struggle with this notion and are always asking themselves, “ Why am I not achieving my goals? ” If I was a betting man, i’d say because they haven’t took self initiative in their craft. Waiting for others will never get you closer to what you feel success looks like. Reason being, is they will never prioritize what you’re doing over what they’re doing. So, you have to go out there and makes things happen. In soccer, what I see a lot, is players who continually go through the motions and never ask for help or guidance. And because they never initiate dialogue with people who can help, they plateau as players. Never really reaching full potential because they don’t know what can help them improve their game.


Last week's article I discussed being honest and how that is the first step into unlocking your full potential. That’s a great place to start, now you have to continue the process with, you've guessed it, self-initiative, particularly with asking coaches for feedback


Here are the 3 benefits from asking your coach for feedback.

1. It’ll give you an objective opinion on where you are as a player.

    objective opinion

    Most of the time we as people have confirmation bias. What confirmation bias is is the tendency to process and analyze information in such a way that it supports one’s pre-existing ideas and convictions. What that means is your parents and your friends more often than not will tell you-you're a good player even when you are an average to below average player. When you hear you’re a good player,  you will tell yourself that this much be true since others told you this. WRONG WRONG WRONG. That’s why we need to get away from asking for feedback in Soccer from people who cannot be objective in their critique. So, the best person to go to is your coach. If your coach is honest, he or she will let you know what you do well, and what you can do better to improve. Once again, it might be a tough pill to swallow, but it is better to hear the truth now, than to hear it 5 years from now and hinder your development. Be brave, and don’t see it as a negative. See it as a positive. See it as a stepping stone to obtaining your goals. Write down specific questions you have, and make sure to actively listen to the feedback your coach gives you. Once you get the feedback, you decide what you agree and disagree with, and now apply and take action.

     

    2. You’ll have a plan of action now on improving.

    improving

    Anything that you accomplish in life has a plan of action. In school, you start from Pre-K and Work yourself up until you are a Senior in High School. The plan is to educate and teach different skills along the way. In Soccer the same idea applies. Now that you’re able to take criticism and use it as motivation. You have to have a plan. The plan is how you’re going to go about improving as a player. The plan will change and you have to be ok with that. The plan changes because you either succeeded in that section, or you had a setback and you have to readjust. Either way, it takes self-initiative to actually write your plan down and see it through. Too many times we see kids quit without giving it time. Give it time, don’t quit, you’ll regret it.

     

    3. There is no more hiding


    Now that you know all that you do, no more hiding. No more making excuses and not be proactive in obtaining your soccer goals. Once the information is presented you have to decide how badly you want it. A lot of you on youtube and on Instagram will tell us how much you want it, but you’ve never implemented any of the information we’ve given or the information you’re coaches have. Like we said last week, SELF HONESTY. If you ever want to have a chance it starts there. So, it’s up to you. Either bring it or be like so many who will make excuses as to why they never turned their dreams into reality.