CHAMPION MENTALITY, HOW TO FIND AND DEVELOP THE YOUNG CHAMPION.

Normally, we tend to underestimate or overlook a player’s facets in his mental abilities that determine his personality. You don’t usually consider your mentality if you are a high quality and talented player, but it matters and a lot. The basis for a team to function is its mentality, its attitude in the field (concentration throughout the game, decision-making to know what to do and regularity in the game).

Example: A final of a great international tournament, match in the last five minutes with draw on the score. The star player receives the ball and has the opportunity to score a goal to decide the match. Technically he is a sensational player, he would be able to place the ball in the most complicated place of the goal with a big shot. However, the pressure is affecting him and the key occasion of the match fails. Just two minutes later, the rival team attacks. They send a long ball to the area that the defense clears, but one of the best defenders, the bigger, taller and that performs the best ball steals, is nervous and with little concentration, ends up pushing the rival forward in a totally unnecessary action. The referee sees him and the rival team fulminates the game with a penalty.

They have missed a final in just two plays. Small mental details have had a decisive influence on the game. Why?.

Football really is like that, the line between success and failure is very thin and various factors make you decide one way or the other. In a team we need players with good technical and physical skills, but they are of no use if they do not have equally good mental skills.

The mentality of a champion, a player who never gives up, who is always motivated to give the best of himself, who fights in individual duels, makes good decisions and courages himself in every training session.

Below we will analyze the most important mental abilities and personality that will define the mentality of a champion:

MENTAL ABILITIES.

• Determination and courage: Keys and base of the mental pyramid. It indicates the ability of a player to give the maximum of himself during the whole game, his desire to win. It usually affects his personality
• Bravery: Indicates the extent to which the player will be willing to fight and win duels. Do not be afraid to put the physical one ahead despite possible injury.
• Effort and sacrifice: A player’s ability to strive on the field. It is often related to other physical abilities such as endurance to prolonged efforts and strength to fight duels hand-to-hand.
• Work for and by the team: Ability of the player to work within the tactic and help his colleagues. Important value for the team to fight together as a single unit.
• Concentration: One of the most important mental skills. It marks the time a player is able to be inside the game. It is usually higher and growing as a player becomes a veteran, usually the young player lacks a high level of concentration. Reference skill in a champion.
• Decision making: A player’s ability or intelligence (quick thinking) to correctly decide what to do and when to do it. Marks the time it takes the player to execute a move after thinking about it. Football is a game of errors and the fewer the better. Key attribute that separates very good players from world class.

PERSONALITY.

• Professionalism: Key and fundamental in the development and growth of a player’s career, since it marks the predisposition to work both on the field of play and in training (young players of enormous potential, destined to be world class, have been left in middle players by this aspect).
• Regularity in his game: Very important as it marks the number of matches that a player is able to play at their highest level, players who are able to always give the best of themselves most of the matches they play.
• Ambition to grow and improve: Indicates the desire of a player to succeed, improve the position of the team or strive in a training to be a better player. It is important to have a great ambition but not that it is extreme can already become a problem: an egomaniac who only thinks about signing for a more powerful club and improving his contract.
• Pressure and performance in key matches: Withstanding pressure is a player’s reaction to stressful situations (decisive moments of a game or press pressure). The performance in key matches affects when facing challenges in crucial matches for his team during the season, a player who does not hide in these matches and grows in the face of adversity.

FIND THE YOUNG CHAMPION.

The process of controlling and training young players within a club is extremely important. The greatness of a team is based not only on the titles or on having excellent players, but also on knowing and being able to create them. The club will grow in leaps and, in the worst case, can be sold to players already formed for a larger sum of money than spent, assuming an additional source of income. At best, perhaps that young player can become an idol of the future for the club. Only time will tell.

Highlighting important parameters such as professionalism, decision-making, determination and dedication, ambition, teamwork and the courage of our possible signing. However, a couple of details should be highlighted:

• Great determination and courage but not extreme: It does not have to be very high. Veteran players will be in charge during the training process and will help the young player to grow these skills. Maximum attention in discarding young players with a personality very different from that of our team (selfish, with little ambition and professionalism) the problems of adaptation can become a serious problem and destroy the harmony of the costumes.
• Buy many players at a low price: Sign free players or no team, who end up in other clubs (prestigious teams tend to sell at low price to their young players as they have no place on the first team). With a low investment you can buy a lot of young players. It is likely that most of them will not become first team players, but forming them is a source of income and prestige for the club.
• Foreign players: It is always convenient to sign players who speak the language of our staff and who have some knowledge of our league. In this way, they will have very little chance of suffering some kind of problem due to the lack of adaptation, and they will soon be available to play any kind of game.

When we talk about recruiting very young players, the demands as soon as we get to the team are minimal. Therefore, signing a player who does not know the language or who has never played in the country has no major drawback, as the player will have years to adapt before making the jump to the first team.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG CHAMPION.

We must always follow a type of parameter that allows us to treat our young people effectively and ensure that their development is optimal:

LEARNING: A young player has just arrived at the club. First of all, he will send it to the team corresponding to his age and level. In order for the player to evolve faster, it is essential to have a correct training program with high level of demand. It is highly advisable to score the player’s weak points and assign him an individualized training to improve. Once the player is more or less formed and playing regularly on the first team, we can profile him by helping him with tips to help him in his style of play. During these first few years, it is crucial that the player spends as much time as possible on improving their skills.

It is really important in the development of our players training teams, so we should take care of it and supervise it in the small details.

EXPERIENCE ACQUISITION: After the passing of the seasons the player has grown through the trainings and has become stronger mentally, but still does not have the level necessary to participate in the plans of the first team. A decision has to be made, since around the age of 20 the player needs something primordial in the world of football and that is experience. This is why the time has come to seek a loan from other clubs. But not all clubs are valid to lend to a player, as we need to keep him evolving and growing. To make the best decision it is important that a number of conditions are met.

• Play Time: It is very important to make sure that the player will play matches and enjoy minutes of play.
• Club Category: The higher the club category, the better, for obvious reasons. Our player has to assimilate the competition, a very important point.
• Training facilities and coaches: If the player is loaned to a club with good coaches who provide him with game concepts and excellent training facilities to help him in his development it will be a key step in his evolution.
• Head coach: We must assess what kind of coach the young player sees to have, does he use a game system that benefits the player?, will you demand him in training?, is he a coach who trusts young people?…

INTEGRATION INTO THE FIRST TEAM: The player has just returned from a loan to another team, or directly ascends from the own young teams. The feeling is that it can fit perfectly into the plans of the first team and can in the long run take a position. You have to be cautious with the new player: don’t demand him as much as the rest of the players and be a little more understanding with him.

VETERAN HELP: The goal is to build a strong mindset and we could never bypass the experienced or veteran players we have in the club. It is very important their contribution in this aspect (since they have a lot of experience), to help the young player develop with their advice both on and off the field, if they share a position it can also help you in the knowledge of the game and of course its integration into the first team.

Which veteran player to choose?, Which would be the most suitable?, let’s see what features the veteran player must have in order to have a positive influence on the young player.

Same position: As mentioned above, it can help you in the knowledge of the game and in the growth of mental abilities in the position.

Veteran′s reputation: Importantly, the veteran being a player of great value to the group within the team, a respected and valued player, would help to be an image in which to look at young people and help in learning.

Long career in professional football and experience: A veteran player, seasoned in a thousand battles, with great experience in professional football, ideal for learning.

High level of commitment, determination and professionalism: The most important thing for the young person’s learning to be positive. The young player will tend to fully or partially imitate the skills of the veteran player, whether it is negative or positive (mirror function or older brother). Remember, that professionalism and determination, are very important when making good progress in training.

Similar personalities: Although we know it is difficult for personalities to coincide, we must try as much as possible not to be polar opposites as it can be a negative learning for the young person. For example, a young player who is extremely ambitious to improve and grow, is influenced by a veteran with little ambition and a desire to improve.

Influence: It helps to make the process more effective and to make the young person more willing to learn than if they were a player without any kind of leadership. This is why learning under the leadership of captains is often very effective.

CONCLUSION.

Over the years I have realized that the difference between the success and failure of different careers has been the mentality. Many players with extraordinary skills have destroyed their careers because of their own personality, which is why I attach so much importance to the mental aspect, as I believe it is the key piece for both evolution and for the player’s growth and success.

Understanding the game, being smart, knowing what’s going on around you, deciding well and being a professional-minded player makes the difference between the good, the very good and the excellent player.

It is possible that by reading it you already know everything I write or you find it obvious, or you may have your own methodology very different from ours, I have only tried to contribute our ideas to help and give another point of view.

Finally, remind you that this methodology is not absolute truth (no one has it) but is based mostly on my own football experience.