Maximize Your Performance On The Soccer Field

Performing maximum on the soccer field is not just about giving 100 %. No, it is much more than that and giving everything is one small part of that. In this article I will present 4 things that will be crucial whether you will perform well or not on the soccer field. Your soccer performance is like a puzzle, each part is important and leaving out one part will affect your performance negatively.

So, how many puzzle pieces is soccer performance built of? Well, there are 4 parts that are crucial and these are:

• Resting enough

• Proper Nutrition

• Enough Sleep

• Focusing 100 %

Let’s look at the first one…

Resting Enough
Before every soccer performance you need to ensure yourself proper resting. This means that you should not participate in any form of physical activity 24 hours before your soccer performance. Your body needs to recover from the previous physical activities and 24 hours is a good number to start with. While resting, you may watch TV, play games or listen to music. With other words anything that doesn’t require physical efforts.

Proper Nutrition
I can’t overemphasize the importance of this one. Eating right type of food is crucial for your performance on the soccer field. Without proper nutrition your body will not work any well. And when your body is not working well, then your performance will not be good either.

Nutrition is similar to car fuel (beside that you can’t actually eat fuel without getting sick :-) If you fill a car with enough fuel you will be able to drive pretty far without needing to refuel it. However, the less fuel you buy the shorter distance you will be able to drive before needing to refuel again.

Before your performance on the soccer field you need to fill your muscles with proper fuel. There is one type of fuel that your muscles will really like and it is carbohydrates.

Carbos are your best friend (when discussing proper soccer nutrition) and can be found in bread, pasta, fruits and so on. However, not all carbos are soccer friendly. Carbohydrates found in chips, Coca Cola and all types of candy will not bring you any good energy; instead they will only fill your body with empty fuel that will affect your performance negatively.

Enough Sleep
Have you ever played a game after a night of bad sleep? Well, if you haven’t I can tell you that it is like running with closed eyes :-) Simply, without a good night of sleep (8 hours is best) your performance will be pretty poor. Keep in mind that you should never force yourself to sleep. It doesn’t work, believe me, it will just make things worse. Instead, relax and think about other things beside the upcoming game. And one more thing, whatever you do, don’t look at the watch!

Focusing
Being able to focus on a game is harder then you may think. You need to really concentrate on your task and fulfill it 100%. If your coach tells you to play as midfielder (even if your regular position is forward) you should accept it and focus on performing well. Don’t get frustrated as it will only affect your game negatively. Instead, accept your coach’s decisions and focus maximum on fulfilling your task.

Summary
There are other things that will affect your game. Some of these are your equipment, weather, the field and so on. You may find things mentioned in this article pretty obvious. However, I know by experience that many soccer players seem to miss them, either because they think that these things will not affect their performance or just because they forget about them.

If you don’t believe in what I have said you could test these things in reality. Simply, avoid sleeping well, eating proper nutrition, do not rest after a soccer game and don’t focus on your game either. Then, come back and tell me how your performance was. If you are claiming anything (beside catastrophic) then you are lying. I wish you good luck with your soccer carrier.