Skills & drills for women’s football

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What it looks like

Preparation & routine » Peak performance

How?

“Peak performance is about elevating every element required to make you play at your best. Generally, these elements are: – Feeling relaxed. It is a common mistake that we should be ”“psyched up”“ to play at our best but research shows that all we need is relaxation+energy – Feeling confident. There is a feeling of expecting to succeed, not hoping or wishing for success, but expecting it. There is no fear, and a trust in instincts and intuition. – Focus. There is a feeling of being in the present, of being totally absorbed in the moment, with no sense of time. Effortlessness. Movements are smooth, the game feels as if it requires little or no effort. – Automatic actions. Being on autopilot with no interference from thoughts or emotions – although obviously a footballer needs to be able to think about tactics and who is around her! – Being in control. You feel in control, so that what you think will happen does happen. – Fun. Peak performance is not obtained when we are bored.”

Why?

Every player wants to be at her best for every match, ideally. Peak performance is about trying to do exactly that: playing at your very best. Think back to your greatest achievement on the sports field or even in life as a whole. What was it that caused you to play so well? You’ll probably find it hard to answer this question, as such events are rare. The idea of peak performance psychology is to turn these rare events into regular events.

Tips & drills

Don’t look back on the game and think, ‘I could have done better’.