To succeed in sports, do you have to focus on that sport more than anything else going on? or have that as a minimal focus?

Hi Jean,

I personally am not a professional lisenced sport psychologist but I do focus a lot of my time on learning ways to achieve peak athletic performance. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology & I'm currently a certified health & wellness coach by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). What I have found has made a massive difference in athletes of all sports in all different levels is the concept of mindfulness meditation. It is considered to help improve the ability to enter into the flow of peak performance, reduce distractions, and even decrease the frequency of injuries. Mindfulness is a form of meditation in which you focus on how your body is at that moment. I suggest doing some research on it, as it has made massive improvements in the athletic lives of many stars & professional teams such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Alabama, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those as just to name a few off the top of my head. It is also believed that 90% of athletic performance is attributed to mental ability. Meaning that only 10% of your ability is because of your actual physicality, practices, demographics, coaching, genetics, etc. This isn't to say that these things are not important. What I'm saying is that all of your hardwork can be easily thrown away if you are not working on your mental ability as a priority.

In addition to mindfulness, I suggest a technique called imagery. It is when you imagine yourself performing your sport by using all five of your senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, & smell. By doing this, you are actually creating a reaction within your brain that causes the actual areas of your brain to function as if you are truly experiencing these situations. The main advantage of this is that your brain will soon become more comfortable with these situations, therefore decreasing anxiety & increasing focus when you are actually in your sport.

The mental side of sports is so much more prevalent than once believed. I suggest you look into mindfulness, imagery, & other cognitive techniques to improve your performance. I also suggest that you keep your mental health in mind while you are preparing for a future in sports. These cognitive techniques may seem simple, but are actually more complex than they sound & takes a lot of practice in order to do correctly. However, once mastered, they definitely help your athletic ability & it should also help you develop strong coping skills off the field as well in order to deal with stressors in life.

I hope that this information will be helpful for you & your future soccer career.

Hi Jean,

I was actually a student-athlete at the University of Michigan for 5 years and I would suggest that you play a variety of sports. A lot of the skills you learn and develop in one sport transfers over the another sport, so it's a win win situation. Also, it's important to spend a lot of time executing proper form while running, jumping and lifting. To stay healthy, you should get into the habit of doing rehab drills to strengthen isolated muscles and spend additional time with recovery (icing, stretching etc.)

Besides from the physical part, PLEASEEE do not focus all of your energy on sports. Take the time to explore your different interests and hobbies. This will save you from a burnout and lack of enjoyment in your sport.

Hope this helps!