Soccer Psychology Tips

Welcome to episode 11 of Soccer Psychology Insights, your mental training podcast. On this episode, Jaki Hitzelberger, MA and Dr. Patrick Cohn give you tips on how to get mentally prepared and focused before soccer games. Focus in soccer is one of the most important mental strategies. Soccer players who prepare physically but are not focused mentally, do not perform up to their ability. Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Cohn discuss the top distractions that interfere with focus in soccer. Most soccer players know how to psychically prepare for soccer games, but lack the mental skills to feel prepared mentally. Having a routine that will help you get focused is just as important as running and stretching before soccer games. Elite soccer players prepare their minds and bodies equally before soccer games. They know that mental toughness is a big predictor of success in soccer. Listen to our soccer psychology podcast using the player below to learn more about how to get focused before soccer games. If you have a question for us, please visit our Contact Us Page and submit your question, we will do our best to answer your question in our Soccer Psychology Articles or on Soccer Psych Insights. Download our free soccer psychology Ebook “7 Mental Game Mistakes that Block Soccer Players’ Success” and learn how to overcome other mental barriers in soccer.

Welcome to episode 10 of Soccer Psychology Insights, your mental training podcast. On this episode, Jaki Hitzelberger, MA and Dr. Patrick Cohn talk about how to keep confidence after big losses, setbacks, and failures. Many soccer players dwell on losses and allow missed opportunities to hurt their confidence. Athletes are renown for being hard on themselves, which can have both a positive and negative affect on their performance.

Jaki Hitzelberger, MA, MGCP and Dr. Patrick Cohn answer a question from a soccer player who says, “I constantly find myself doubting my abilities because the girls I play with are very skilled technically. I fear being the weak link which leads to negative self talk and inability to pull away from mistakes." Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Cohn answer this question and talk about why making comparisons hurts confidence in soccer.

Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Petras talk about how to overcome mental challenges associated with injuries in soccer. Soccer is a physical game and injuries are often a big part of the sport. Learn how to use your mind to recover more successfully and return to the field at full speed.

Jaki Hitzelberger, MA and Dr. Gamarra discuss how a mental trainer or sports psychologist can help soccer teams and players improve confidence and focus in order to perform under the pressure of being a high level athlete. They also discuss the recent shift in perception of mental training in that soccer coaches are starting to utilize and realize the benefit of having a mental trainer or mental game coach on staff.

Welcome to episode 6 of Soccer Psych Insights, your soccer mental training podcast. On this episode, Jaki Hitzelberger, MA and Dr. Patrick Cohn talk discuss how soccer players often assess their performance as "good" or "bad". Dr. Cohn and Jaki Hitzelberger talk about how this can hurt confidence. Many soccer players who have high expectations and are perfectionists only focus on the negative aspects of their performance after a game. In addition, many soccer players discount what they did do well. Our goal in working with soccer players is to help them assess their performance objectively. This means identifying what they did well and what they want to improve on. This is different then saying you had a "good game" or "bad game." We want our soccer players to acknowledge their strengths and in addition, identify what they want to improve. Soccer is a game of constant improvement and mistakes are inevitable. Avoid dwelling on mistakes by adopting a more effective approach to how you assess your performance. If you have a question for us, please visit our Contact Us Page and submit your question, we will do our best to answer your question in our Soccer Psychology Articles or on our soccer psychology podcast, Soccer Psych Insights. Download our free soccer psychology Ebook “7 Costly Mental Game Mistakes that Block Soccer Players’ Success” and learn how to overcome other mental barriers in soccer.

Welcome to episode 5 of Soccer Psych Insights, your soccer mental training podcast. On this episode, Jaki Hitzelberger, MA, MGCP and Dr. Patrick Cohn answer a question from a soccer player who says, "I have a big lack of self-confidence in my game. I've played at a very competitive club level since I was 9 and I'm now 16, I should have confidence in myself. What should I work at to get that confidence up? Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Cohn answer this question and talk about what hurts confidence in soccer. They discuss how to have stable confidence that is based on years of experience in soccer. Listen to this episode to learn how to improve your confidence and performance in soccer. If you have a question for us, please visit our Contact Us Page and submit your question, we will do our best to answer your question in our Soccer Psychology Articles or on Soccer Psych Insights. Download our free soccer psychology Ebook "7 Mental Game Mistakes that Block Soccer Players' Success" and learn how to overcome other mental barriers in soccer.

Dr. Cohn and Jaki Hitzelberger discuss the difference between practice confidence and game confidence. They give mental strategies to have proactive and stable confidence in soccer games.

Jaki Hitzelberger, MA and Dr. Cohn answer a question from a soccer player who asks, "How do i move on from frustration after mistakes?" Jaki and Dr. Cohn help you understand how to manage perfectionist expectations, move on from mistakes, focus in the moment, and avoid letting frustration hold you back from performing your best.

In this episode of Soccer Psych Insights, Jaki Hitzelberger and Dr. Cohn discuss one aspect of mental preparation- managing high expectations. Managing high expectations is a very important part of mental preparation because high expectations can hurt your  confidence in soccer. We certainly want you to set challenging goals for yourself, but focusing on very strict expectations for your performance, is not going to help you execute during a game. Expectations and confidence are very different in soccer. We want you to believe in your ability, but avoid demanding perfection. Instead, you want to create small performance cues that focus on what you need to do to execute. Listen to this episode of Soccer Psych Insights to learn how to manage high expectations in order to perform with confidence.

On Soccer Psych Insights your mental game experts Jaki Hitzelberger, MA & Dr. Cohn will teach you cutting-edge mental game strategies to find the zone faster and stay there. If you want to get the most out of your soccer performance, you’ve come to the right place. Learn how to regain your confidence in games and focus on what's important to your success. Here, you’ll learn how to: Use your mind as an asset in games, how to prepare mentally before games and get the most our of your skills, how to trust in the skills you practice during games, and how to focus on the right performance cues instead of distractions. About Your Hosts: Jaki Hitzelberger has her Masters in Mental Health Counseling and specializes in sports psychology. She was a 4 year collegiate scholarship soccer player and has worked with high school, collegiate, and pro athletes on their mental game. Jaki is a certified Mental Game Coaching Professional through Peak Performance Sports. As the director of Peak Performance Sports, Jaki is head of marketing, program design, research, and membership programs. Dr. Patrick Cohn is a sports psychology expert at Peak Performance Sports with over 20 year of experience. Dr. Cohn works with athletes and teams worldwide from a variety of sport backgrounds including soccer players and coaches. As the president and founder of Peak Performance Sports (Orlando, Florida), Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is dedicated to instilling confidence and composure, and teaching effective mental game skills to help athletes, teams, and corporate professionals perform at maximum levels.