Day to Day

DAY-TO-DAY

1. Have a football in your hands as much as possible. Ball handling can be improved by spending as much time catching, marking, feeling, bouncing, etc
2. When thinking about the coming match practice your visualisation. “Visualisation is a BIG thing.”
3. Warm-ups are important to injury prevention. Treat them properly.
4. If reliant on another person to get you to the game or training, always ensure a back-up plan is in the wings in case of break-downs or other mishaps
5. Don’t be casual about any cut or blister, they may become infected and put you out for a week.
6. Do not have a big lunch on Training Day
7. Organise your sleeping. Don’t overdo it, particularly on pre-match night.
8. Endeavour to solve any troubles or traumas you may have by Thursday if possible.
9. Always avoid running on concrete or roads if you can. If you don’t the accumulative wearing effect on ankles knees and groins could endanger the length of you career.
10. Weigh yourself every other day.
11. Do not tire yourself with a strenuous run (or say a golf day, etc.) the day before a match.
12. Don’t give mates in opposition clubs any information, but try to get some from them.
13. Avoid any sudden change in food style unless under supervision.
14. Be a self-starter. Don’t wait for someone else to turn you on. That sort of stuff is for little kids.
15. You are responsible for communicating with the club as much as the club is.
16. If you have a problem tell the coach, not everyone else.

ON EQUIPMENT

1. The boot knot should be tied on the inside of the foot so it can never interfere with the connection of the ball.
2. Wear your jumper tucked into your shorts, not out where it can be easily grabbed.
3. Wear new boots in; ideally round the house for a week. Remember, a wet night is ideal for wearing in new boots.
4. Don’t dry out new boots too close to direct heat
5. Shock absorbing innersoles are worth considering on harder surfaces in boots or runners.

BEFORE THE GAME

1. Try to ensure a smooth arrival to the ground on match day.
2. Try to get yourself into a routine before match day. It may start after work on Friday, but certainly on match morning. (However if you feel & perform better not organising a routine that’s ok too.)
3. Eat the right food. Get good advice. Don’t eat heavy stuff which will sit in your stomach. Match day food must be that which pumps energy into your bloodstream quickly.
4. Don’t rely solely on others regarding your equipment.
5. Be responsible yourself for extras like mouthguards, inner soles, energy snacks, recovery fluids, etc.
6. Strongly consider taping your ankles before a training sessions and certainly before a match.
7. Try to do everything right in pre-match warm-up, particularly anything to do with the ball.
8. Pay attention to joints of the body which suffer the most physical pressure – Strengthening, warming up and strapping, etc.
9. Stay together as a group when running onto the field – It looks good – You look like one solid unit “A TEAM”.

ON TRAINING

1. Bring an enthusiastic attitude to training. Show everyone you want to train.
2. Practice on you weaknesses instead of just enjoying your strengths.
3. Think about training. Think during training.
4. Work hard at training. Remember the harder you work, the luckier (or more successful) you get.
5. Whilst we must train and play with hurts and pains at times, don’t be careless with them. Get them looked at quickly and cleared up quickly.
6. Keep up your fluid intake during training and matches at all costs. Hydration will effect energy levels more than anything else.
7. If you’ve had an unusually hard day on a training day, let the coach know as he is not a mind reader.
8. Practice, will power, concentration & self-discipline are just like any other skills – practice them at training.
9. Always look at the coach when he is speaking.
10. Always take up the 2 o’clock to 10 o’clock position when listening to the coach
11. Understand that stats guys do make errors, but remember, they won’t be far out.
12. Keep your own record of stats on your opponent. Average them out so you can plot or aim for improvement, particularly in order to limit his effectiveness.

 ON THE LOVE OF THE GAME

1. Learn to be a good loser and a good winner
2. Actions speak louder than words “Act, don’t leave it in the change rooms.”
3. Remember the best coach in Australia for your individual improvement is you.
4. Like people knowledgeable in their craft, you should read all you can about football, particularly the thoughts of an opposing players or coaches
5. Have a filing system for any piece which may be of help to you now or sometime in the future.
6. Remember a meeting after defeat is a learning opportunity. A meeting after a win makes the learning more enjoyable.
7. Look the part. Look like a pro. They say “If you can’t be a footballer, at least look like one.”
8. Know you standards. E.g. a good kick is one which gets to the target; a great kick is one where the target does not have to speed up or slow down, bend, jump or veer left or right.
9. Don’t expect praise for average standards or for being an ordinary (adequate) performer. That’s expected. What is wanted in the club is the extraordinary.