We all should want progress. Progress is the journey. Progress is the way in which we see ourselves grow as people in order to achieve our dreams. Nothing will happen overnight and you have to understand it will take time. In today's climate, instant gratification is everywhere and has put a damper on our mindset on how much time it truly takes to be great. The first step here is to say to yourself, THIS WILL BE A PROCESS! Say it one more time for me, " THIS WILL BE A PROCESS."

When I was a youth player, I knew that if I wanted to get better and if I wanted to play college ball and if I  wanted to get to the pro ranks, it was going to take time. It was going to take unwavering confidence that only grows through the ups and downs of your journey. 

It's going to be a battle, remember this when you embark on what's going to be a wonderful experience. In today's episode, I'll explain to you the 6 things you need to remember when measuring your progress in soccer.

1. Have you written down what you want to achieve in soccer?

This is the first step! Write down your goals! It's nice to see your goals written down because it is the beginning of you taking the appropriate measures to get what you want. There are different types of goals you should have for yourself. Process goals, outcome goals, and performance goals should be on your list and they should be a SMART type of goal. If this doesn't make sense to you, Click here to watch our videos on goals to go more in-depth.

2. Have you written write out the plan

Being organized and having a system in place will help you in the process because you'll be able to see the path you think it's going to take to achieve the goals you set out for yourself. If the goal is to make your high school soccer team. You better make things specific in your process. What that could look like is this:

3 days a week dedicated to working on crossing

2 days of core work

5 days of technical work

At this point, you don't know what specifically will work, so you have to try different things at first! I know it might be scary, but I promise you this is how the process works and what it's going to take. 

3. Putting action to the words

Alright, put your goals and the action for achieving your goals somewhere you will see it daily. Go out there and do! Do the work you feel is necessary to turn your dreams into reality. It's going to be difficult and you will have to dig deep to keep your actions and words aligned.

4. Sit yourself down and be honest with your input and output

Alright, now that you have tried some things, ask yourself if you feel if you're on the right path. Are you grinding? Are you hustling enough to at the end of the day when you're going to sleep, you can be happy with the output. You're happy that you pushed yourself in fitness drills today. You're happy that every play in practice, you made sure to be focused and dialed in. If you feel this way, great, keep pushing to never be content but always wanting to push the needle!

5. Are you being consistent?

It's easy to do the work consistently for a week or 2, its more difficult to do it for 2 months, 4 months, a year. Those who can consistently perfect their craft will find themselves in a position to be great! When the thought of taking off when you should be working creeps in your head, you have to have the strength to work through that! Mental strength can be a constant battle, are you going to let the bad things get the better of you and hinder your development?

6. Go harder next time

Keep going. Control the things you can control and worker harder, pushing yourself to levels you never thought possible can be the guiding light. Working hard can keep you on pace and moving in an upward trajectory. embrace the grind.