Advice From The Pros: How to Build an Elite Mindset

Hands down, an elite mindset is the most important quality in a successful athlete. Plenty of young athletes possess the physical requirements for success, but only those with elite mindsets will actually reach their goals.

In fact, an elite mindset allows players with physical disadvantages to consistently outperform their much taller or faster opponents. After all, some of the greatest soccer players were noticeably smaller than their peers.

Before we explain how young athletes can acquire this invaluable tool, let’s go over what an elite mindset looks like, and why it’s so powerful in a sport like soccer.

An Elite Mindset Doesn’t Get Flustered by Mistakes

Soccer is famously known as a game of mistakes because players are constantly making decisions at lightning speed, and it’s just not possible to make the right decision every time. Mistakes are inevitable in soccer, and your mindset determines how you react to them. All the physical gifts in the world are useless if you get flustered and lose focus every time something goes wrong.

A player with an elite mindset stays relaxed and focused after making mistakes so they can continue driving their team forward. This level of emotional control also allows you to look at the mistake objectively and determine what you should do differently next time.  

An Elite Mindset Stays Focused on Long-Term Goals

Speaking of adversity, another aspect of an elite mindset is the ability to overcome hurdles off the field as well. Every player experiences some form of adversity in their journeys, whether it’s getting cut, injured, or overshadowed by another player in their position.  

These misfortunes have derailed the trajectories of countless high-level players. A player with an elite mindset, on the other hand, stays focused on their long-term goals and continues to elevate their game. Not only do they get back up after getting knocked down; they get back up as better versions of themselves.  

Building an Elite Mindset with Mindset Coaching

While high-level soccer players get plenty of physical training, the traditional approach to coaching soccer gives too little - if any - attention to mindset.  

Fortunately, that’s what a mindset coach is for.

A big part of a mindset coach’s job is changing your perspective towards adversity. Building an elite mindset on the field begins with understanding that mistakes and challenges are just natural parts of the game. That’s the key to overcoming adversity: seeing it as normal, not negative.

Taking the fear out of mistakes minimizes your emotional reaction to them, so you can continue driving your team forward. When you’re able to stay relaxed and focused during play, you can use your brain in difficult situations, and actually think to yourself, “Okay, what happened last time?”.

Mindset coaching also teaches players how to view challenges - both on and off the field - as opportunities to evolve. Every player has areas in need of improvement, and challenges have a tendency to make these weaknesses more apparent. Mindset coaching encourages players to capitalize on this crucial information and modify their training to become a more well-rounded player while many of their peers remain stagnant.

How Mindset Coaches Put Proof Behind Their Words

So, how exactly does a mindset coach convince a player that adversity is normal and natural? By using their own experience as a model. Your mindset coach has been through the journey of a high-level athlete. Odds are, their career took all sorts of twists and turns before they reached their long-term goal, and their teammates’ careers were no different.

When something unfortunate happens, your mindset coach will be there to tell you how to learn from it and keep on moving towards your long-term goals.

They are living proof that it’s not what happens to you - but how you react to it - that determines the trajectory of your journey.

At Beyond Goals Mentoring, we know that staying focused and relaxed in adverse situations does not come easily to every athlete. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping young soccer players build elite mindsets and adapt to the myriad challenges lying ahead. A player with an elite mindset is destined for success, even if they aren’t the most physically dominant player on the field.

So, if your athlete could use some help with the mental component of soccer, let’s set up a mentoring session today.