Focused for Soccer

Focused for Soccer By Bill Beswick

Successful soccer players know their game, have the skills to master the techniques and tactics, and are physically able to meet the demands of their sport. The fourth and vital factor in soccer success though is mental toughness. Being a champion demands concentration, discipline, motivation, and a positive attitude.

Now you can learn to meet and overcome the mental challenges of intense competition. Focused for Soccer delivers in-depth, easy-to-follow guidelines for maximizing individual performance on the soccer field.

This book will help you sharpen your mental skills and unleash your full potential. Better than any general sport psychology text, Focused for Soccer is filled with practical tips and step-by-step techniques specifically developed for the game. Part of Human Kinetics, popular Focused for Sports series, this book makes the case that physical skills and conditioning must be combined with psychological skills to be a champion.

Bill Beswick, European coach and sport psychologist, is the world's leading authority on the mental aspects of soccer performance. His insights and anecdotes enrich the expert instruction throughout the book. Bill explains how he has applied the training techniques successfully in his many years as a coach and consultant.

Beswick begins by helping you create an honest player assessment and a plan of action. He then guides you through every key factor of the mental game that will improve performance, including positive outlook, intensity of actions, imagination, winning attitudes, healthy competitiveness, and true teamwork. In many sections, the author shows techniques used by professional athletes and sport psychologists to boost performance to a higher level.

Encouraging athletes to play "first with the head, then with the heart," Focused for Soccer is a players' and coaches' guide to all of the psychological tools necessary to become a soccer champion. It is an invaluable tool for improving the foundation of your game and an outstanding guidebook for any physical athletic training program.

Reviews:
Steve McLaren:

"This book is not just a worthwhile read, it's also a necessary reference I can consult as my team experiences the highs and lows of competitive football."

Pob:

"This was just the book I was looking for to get a basic introduction to Sports/Team Psychology.

Although I have played amatuer football since I was knee high I was able to translate this book into my Skater Hockey coaching role. My players are benefiting enormously, two are now Great Britain regulars!

I am hungry for more and would like to attend the Sport Mind workshops but I am not sure if any are going to materialise this year (2003).

Finally, I feel Bill (the author) could really use Sports Psychology and implement it into the business world. The messages could easily be adapted from sport into the workplace and people could really start to relate to team psychology.

This book is perfect for a basic introduction, don't dither buy it now!"

Mike UK:

"Bill Beswick has written one of the best books on sports psychology. I have also given it to many people in business, who found it immensely helpful and practical when building teams. Highly recommended, a great read."