One of the most frequent questions youth and older players ask is what the best bit of advice you can give to make it as a professional. Many technical tips can be thrown about in answer to this question but one of the main points we find most beneficial is to be yourself and do not be afraid to express your talent.
Dealing with pressure in big games or trial situations can be tough. One of the best coping mechanisms is to trust your talent and be yourself. Your talent and hard work have taken you this far meaning you should express what you have learnt and believe in the process that has brought you to this moment.
Being true to yourself and the way you enjoy playing the game will help you before, during and after important moments in your sporting career. It will help deal with nerves before the game and give you clarity of thought during it as well. However, most importantly if you have been yourself and played the game how you want to, dealing with the result and your performance (good or bad) becomes much easier to reconcile.
Having spoken to a number of ex-professionals as well as up and coming talents this is something they echo as well. Jack Stevens, a Port Vale Academy player, was told just this by Tony Pulis. He was instructed to “stick to my normal game and don’t do anything I don’t normally do.”
The same message came from Matt Elliot, who played for Leicester City amongst other clubs. He told us that you should not ‘be afraid to express yourself’. He confessed that when he was younger he “was happy to just be one of the players in the mix” and did not trust his talent to take him further. However, once he learnt to express himself more on the field his career began to take steps forwards up the ladder of professionalism.
Expressing yourself and being true to oneself can at times be one of the most difficult things to do on and off the field. Trusting in the process and enjoying the experience on the field is key to this though and once you learn to do so, together with Irama you can take your career forwards to greater heights.
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