Soccer Brain: The 4C Coaching Model for Developing World Class Player Mindsets and a Winning Football Team by Dan Abrahams published by Bennion Kearny [smashwords edition] * * * * * Published in 2013 by Bennion Kearny Limited. Copyright © Bennion Kearny Ltd 2013 Dan Abrahams has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this book. ISBN: 978-1-909125-43-8 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that it which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Bennion Kearny has endeavoured to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Bennion Kearny cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. Published by Bennion Kearny Limited, 6 Victory House, 64 Trafalgar Road, Birmingham, B13 8BU www.BennionKearny.com Cover image ©Shutterstock/Krivosheev Vitaly * * * * * Dedication To Heidi and to Zoe “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” Harriet Tubman * * * * * Acknowledgements I’d firstly, and most importantly, like to thank my wife Heidi. You are, to quote a famous poet, my north, my south, my east and west (and a little more besides). Thanks for being there, for supporting and for editing (it takes a certain skill to edit a book about soccer when it’s far from being your favourite subject area). A big thanks to James, my publisher, without whom there would be no book to thank anyone for in the first place. Your wisdom is much appreciated. Finally, a big thanks to Wayne Burnett who got the ball rolling, to Steve Gallen for continuing the momentum, and to all the coaches and managers I’ve worked with over the years. * * * * * About the Author Dan Abrahams is a freelance sport psychologist who specialises in soccer. He has spent the past decade working with some of the leading soccer players, teams, organisations and governing bodies globally. He has held contracts with leading clubs in the English Premier League and some of the top managers and coaches regularly use his techniques to drive their coaching culture and team building processes. Dan’s passion is to de-mystify sport psychology and deliver simple and practical ideas to both players and coaches. He is a regular speaker at soccer conferences across Europe wowing audiences with his engaging, upbeat, positive and fun presentations and workshops. Dan has spread his soccer psychology philosophies across the soccer globe by using social media and his mindset techniques are now used by players and coaches across Europe, the USA, the Middle East, the Far East and Australasia. * * * * * Table of Contents Title Page Publication Details Dedication Acknowledgements About the Author Introduction – The Toughest Profession of All Section One – A Culture of Creativity Chapter 1 – The Roots of Creativity Chapter 2 – Expand Your Definition of Talent Chapter 3 – The 1%ers Section One Summary Section Two – A Culture of Confidence Chapter 4 – The Belief They Need Chapter 5 – Your Self-Belief Toolkit Chapter 6 – Training with Confidence in Mind Section Two Summary Section Three – A Culture of Commitment Chapter 7 – Developing the Ruthless Competitor Chapter 8 – Practice on Purpose Chapter 9 – Mental Contrasting Section Three Summary Section Four – A Culture of Cohesion Chapter 10 – Leading with Head and with Heart Chapter 11 – We Starts with Me Chapter 12 – The Pelican Mindset Section Four Summary Overall Conclusion – A Culture of Success Other Books from Bennion Kearny * * * * * Introduction - The Toughest Profession of All You are the coach. You are the leader. You are responsible. You stand in front of them, their eyes transfixed on you, their minds set for your instruction. A match of significance, of high stakes. A win and your position is safe, a loss and the exit door looms. Your words will travel with them into this game – what you say has to have impact. You can see they are nervous, as are you. But you can’t show them that – heart rate steady, stay composed, a still rational mind is best. Pre match simplicity: nothing new now, just reinforcement. Start with a soft voice then raise the tone – now lessen the volume as the room intensity sizzles. Calm minds are a must, no headless chickens. Their roles and responsibilities: emphasize. Emotional words for some, words of action for others. Then togetherness, that invisible rope that binds us. A focus on the team – just about us, what we do, not what they do. Memory – replace fear with confidence using reminders of past successes against this team. An emphatic win and a hard fought draw. Every second counts if they’re going to repeat those outcomes – every second of grind, of freedom, of focus. Time! No more talking – so easy to say too much. Now positive action. The tunnel, then pitch, then technical area. A little instruction from the sidelines maybe, but they are on their own now. Let them fly! Soccer Brain You, however, are not on your own. A coach is never truly isolated. You have resources to be the very best you can be, and I’d like you to come out of your comfort zone and stretch yourself. I’d like you to engage in the improvement process. I’d like you spend every day, every coaching session, and every minute of training and match day becoming the best coach you can be. This book will help you do that. It will help you monitor your thoughts, philosophies, values, systems, actions and behaviours as you go about your daily coaching practices. It will challenge and stretch you. It will require you to question the methodologies and coaching beliefs that you may hold dear. It will, of course, also reinforce – I’m sure you have some winning habits that you already employ on your eager students. I hope Soccer Brain will help you magnify your strengths as a coach but also tease a few extra ideas out of the pedagogical system you use now. My passion is the extension of soccer talent; to help footballers improve and perform. Young, veteran, working class, middle class, boy or girl, every race, colour and creed - my life is spent helping shape the performances of those who play the beautiful game. Making them pitch perfect is my driving creed. Do you share this obsession? Do you wake up excited about the training session you’re going to put on that afternoon or night? Do you go to bed wondering how you could have done the sessions that little bit better? Does your mind vibrate when you ask yourself how you can accelerate the learning of a few more of your players? If you feel this way, if you have that ardent fervour, that zeal to help footballers then you are the right person to read Soccer Brain. As much as I love helping footballers, my obsession extends to coaching. Working alongside great soccer coaches makes me excited. It helps me understand not only soccer but also the subtle nuances of learning and performance. Listening to a great coach in action on the training ground is (to me) akin to listening to great poets read their verse. What do I hear? I hear the complex made simple, the reinforcement of correct action, the right questions asked, the silence that ‘says a thousand words’, the emotion appropriately apportioned, and the use of language that inspires and aspires. Off the pitch I see many things – I see meticulous detail in planning, I see preparation for all eventualities, I see collaboration with players, I see a winning culture driving player adherence, and I see excitement in the face of evolving club objectives. And both on and off the pitch I sense – I sense the notion of fun, freedom and focus, I sense personal guidance and professional leadership, I sense openness and caring, I sense a will to win but also a commitment to learn, and I sense failure as a resource for success. Mindset and Coaching Culture Be warned, this isn’t a traditional soccer coaching book. There will be no sketches of drills and plays. There is no real talk of formation, or shape and pattern. When you scan a page you won’t find bullet points fine-detailing the art of controlling a football or where to place players for a corner kick. These are the technical and tactical sides of the game that are your traditional sources of information as a coach. They are detailed in plenty of resources elsewhere. With this book, however, your ability to instruct the tactical and technical components of the game will improve and your players’ skill in executing your tuition will develop if you build its messages into your coaching. This is because this book is intended to drive your mindset as a coach, the mentality of your players and the culture of your coaching practice. Great coaching, a player’s ability to understand and learn, and a player’s expression of bodily movement in performance starts with these qualities. To me mindset and culture are analogous to the importance of soil and water to a plant.