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Who could deny that Chelsea FC have a squad full, absolutely jam packed full, of match winning talent? But... just of late their Premiership challenge has faltered dramatically. In their last 8 games, they have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 1. Now on the face of it that doesn't look like a bad return, but if you take the last 5 they have won 1, drawn 3 and lost 1, which doesn't make for good reading.
You may be asking yourself what has all of this got to do with Junior & Youth Soccer? Well, quite a lot really.
You see, if a team like Chelsea can fall apart with their squad built up of over £300 million worth of world beating talent because of a few words said by their manager about the quality of their squad and the way the team is lacking certain players; then what effect can your words have on the confidence of your team?
Is it any wonder that Chelsea have suddenly stopped believing when you have rumours rife over the relationship between the manager and the owner? Or when the manager appears to have stopped believing in his players (a prime example we seen at Anfield this weekend). Want some more examples of players lacking in confidence in the Chelsea squad...? Look no further than Shevchenko & Wright-Phillips!
OK, the Chelsea team did have a patched up defence against Liverpool, but with all that talent players should be able to play in a number of positions.
What can we learn to implement within our own teams?
We can help build and maintain confidence by constantly believing that all challenges can be overcome. Many games are won, not always at the feet with the ball, but in the heads of players.
Confidence is something that should be continually built and reinforced with your players; helping them to develop their self image which in turn develops their self talk which drives their performance.
As the coach, you have an essential role in building player confidence. If you actively demonstrate that you believe in your players, train and coach them in an environment that recognises positive behaviour, is devoid of criticism and only seeks to build confidence and not damage self esteem; then you should have a good team spirit brimming with confidence.
We have a number of articles that are all related to building your players self image, self talk & confidence and you can be reading these in the next 2 minutes by becoming a full member of Junior Soccer Coach.
Plus, you can do this for only £1
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That's right, £1 gets you full access to every article and drill within our main pages as well as all the articles listed below on building confidence in your players.
So come on in and join the best online worldwide soccer community on the net, today.
That's your tip for this week, Good luck in this weekends games...
Best wishes
Neil
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PS...
Don't forget, you can make use of all the downloads in the resource area too, including our new eBook, "How To Create A Winning Soccer Team".
PPS...
There is another learning point from the patched up Chelsea team which is pertinent to our Junior & Youth teams. It's having flexibility in the squad. To often we see players pidgeon holed as to their best position and then they only get to play in that position.
If for some reason you need players to play elsewhere on the pitch and they haven't had experience of it, or been practicing in a variety of positions, then how can you expect them to step in and do a job?
So learning point number 2 for today is....rotate your players so that they have experience in a multitude of positions!
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