“Stay focused. Your start does not determine how you’re going to finish.” –Herm Edwards,

Focus is a vital key which improves the football mind. For this, you, need to immerse yourself in the game and be as deeply engaged in it as possible.

Throw away all doubts, fears, and anxiety and stay in the moment. How can one achieve this miraculous state of self-immersion? One thing’s for sure, a miracle has nothing to do with it, but rather requires lots of effort.

How to get in the Zone:

When your mind is solely fixated on achieving an objective rather than agonizing over a missed play you’re focused and on top of your mental game. Distractions are the biggest factor that weakens your football mental game. There are two major steps you can take to combat distractions.

Firstly, identify when and why you tend to lose focus. Most athletes lose focus after they make a bad play or because of fear of failure.

When you slip-up on the field, never lose focus and let your mind ponder on the failure because you will only reduce your chances of winning even more.

Secondly, after realizing the major causes of your lack of focus, form strategies to help you get back on track. You can start by assuring yourself that nothing else matters and by imagining all your previous successes so you can give yourself a little confidence boost.

A common way that players achieve their best mental state is by using a mental game coach to assists in training their minds by educating them on psychology in football. You can learn how to immerse yourself in your game.

When your mind is free from distractions, you’re already halfway to completely submerging your mind into the game. You also have to look out for key moments in the game that require full attention and might be a turning point in the game. Always keep your head in the game and ignore anything around you that isn’t related to the present play.

Achieving Mental Toughness:

Football psychology states that pre-game jitters are in fact a very normal and common thing for every player to experience. Developing mental toughness will help manage it.

Initially, a goal must be set so you can practice visualizing how to attain that goal. Mental preparation must be done before to the game.

This will include thinking positively and picturing yourself overcoming any obstacles so that you can relax your mind.

Football mental toughness is also being able to make instantaneous decisions even in the toughest situations. You can learn to do this by concentrating only on the controllable things and also through tons of practice.

At the end of the day, both physical and mental aspects of football need to practice to make progress and reach your full potential.

*Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in Football.