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....on Taking Responsibility for Your
Development as a Top-level Soccer Player
The following commentary was written several years ago by Sasha
Cirovski, Head Coach of the University of Maryland’s Division 1
Men’s Soccer Team. The University of Maryland Men’s Team is
consistently among the top 5 programs in the country, having won the
National Championship in 2005. Coach Cirovski offers some great
advice on what it takes to become a champion.
By Sasha Cirovski
Head coach, University of Maryland
...I've had the privilege of coaching some of the best young players
our country has produced over the past 10 years. I've also had a
chance to observe and follow the careers of many of the best soccer
players all over the world.
For sure, I've read biographies and autobiographies of many of the
great athletes as they achieved their greatness. In all of these
success stories, there are many similarities. The best way for me to
summarize what they did to succeed and what you can do to give
yourself a better chance of succeeding is to live like a champion.
Below is the C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N acronym that I've developed for
athletes who care enough and are prepared to work to achieve
greatness.
Commitment: Decide if being a great player is important to you. If
the answer is yes, don't wait for an environment to be created for
you. Don't wait for a coach to make you great. If you are not going
out on your own and working on your individual techniques daily --
for at least an hour a day (especially on those days when you are
not playing or practicing with a team) -- then you don't have the
heart to be a champion! Remember, soccer is a very easy game to
play, but it's an extremely difficult one to play well! In that
sense it's a little bit like golf. Do you think Tiger Woods spends
at least an hour a day on his technique? I can tell you that Marco
Etcheverry does!
Humility: It's what you learn after you "know it all" that really
counts. The great ones all possess this quality that inspires them
to get better because they all have the greatest amount of respect
for the challenges issued to them daily by the opponents and the
special demands of the sport. They are courteous and gracious both
in victory and defeat.
Attitude: Remember, you are in charge of your attitude. It is the
most important attribute that we have directly in our control.
Therefore it's vitally important that you choose to have a positive,
optimistic outlook at all times. Many great athletes never even give
themselves a chance to succeed because their attitude is negative,
or they spend so much time and energy worrying about things they
can't control. One of my favorite quotes is "whether you think you
can or you can't, you're probably right." So every night before you
go to bed, look in the mirror and ask yourself how your attitude was
today. If it was not positive and inspiring then change it! It's
that simple.
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Make playing a labor of love!
Model the Way: Yes, that's right, you are a role model and you must
understand and accept the responsibility that goes along with the
goals you've set for yourself of becoming a big-timer. Once you
understand its significance, it can be an internally inspiring force
that gets you going on those days you think nobody cares. The great
ones understand that it's what you do when you think nobody is
watching that's really important. Because invariably there is
someone always watching! Accept the challenge.
Pride: Every time you practice or play, you always autograph the
quality of your effort with the [number] on your shirt -- your
individual signature. Also, when you play a game, you represent your
team with the name on the front of the shirt. It's absurd for me to
think that to give less than 100 percent effort at all times is not
possible. "If it's to be, it's up to me" is another one of my
favorite quotes.
Initiative: Be a leader. Come up with ideas to make yourself a
better athlete, a better person and a better player. Go out and buy
10 balls and a ball bag, so you have no excuse not to train. Go to a
top college or pro game and actually study the player from whom you
can learn something. Read a soccer book. Watch a soccer video.
Continue to log on to websites. You get the idea. Some people dream
big and others wake up and realize their dreams. So get going, now!
Overcome: Invariably, it will not be an easy road to your ultimate
success. You will face obstacle after obstacle. Your persistence and
ability to overcome adversity, frustration and disappointment, and
all other obstacles that come your way will determine the heights
you reach. Many times, the actual exhilaration we feel when we
accomplish something worthy is directly proportional to the number
of obstacles we had to overcome along the way. Make all obstacles
your challenges (speed bumps), and go out and conquer them!
Never say never: Never stop believing in yourself. Sometimes, we
have to change our destinations or the roads we take to get us
there, but don't ever quit. Promise yourself that you will always
work hard and always persevere to the very end! Quitters never win
and winners never quit!
I'll never forget the first time that the Houston Rockets won the
NBA Championship and a reporter asking Hakeem Olajuwon, "How does it
finally feel to be Champion?" After a few seconds of pause, Hakeem
looked at the reporter and said "It feels great to have won, but I
don't need a trophy to tell me that I am now a champion. I feel like
every day I am a champion by the way I train, play and live my
life." I thought it was perhaps the best response I have ever heard
by an athlete and in part has inspired me to put in perspective what
athletics is all about.
I hope this will inspire you to take a more active role in your own
future.
Sasho Cirovski is the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at the University of
Maryland |