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Quote of the Week
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"When a child asks you a question answer with your full attention and to the best of your ability. What you say may be the most important thing the child ever hears."
Charles Cotton
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 Recommended Media
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A different type of 'football' inspires this weeks media recommendation - American football. This video highlights one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. The humour and unbelievable outcome capture the genius "NEVER QUIT" spirit brilliantly.
Enjoy!
Amazing Comeback in Football.
(click twice to open in large screen)
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HomeSkills
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Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series: HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Kneeling Hand Taps
The Soccer Genius Training System ensures all players learn and practice goalkeeping skills. This includes mastering use of the hands on the ball.
This week's challenge comes from the Level One book and focuses on Kneeling Hand Taps, as follows:
1. Get into a Goalie Kneeling Ready Stance with weight balanced on the knees, body spring loaded and arms away from the body with palms slightly curled and facing forward.
2. Place a ball touch distance in front of one hand (half step),
3. Balanced breathing, Senses alert,
4. Sit slightly down and back (do not sit on heels),
5. Place the hand nearest ball on the side of the ball – palm facing in and fingers open,
6. Close your eyes,
7. Tap the ball straight across in front of the body using your palm,
8. Stop the ball on the top center with your other hand,
9. Tap back with palm and open fingers on the outside of the ball,
10. Stop the ball on the top center
11. Continue rhythm to a count of 12,
12. Smile and Open your eyes.
Challenge Yourself (keeping perfect form throughout):
- How many can you do in 30 seconds?
- 60 seconds?
Mastered the Challenge?
Then email me to tell me about it. I love hearing about and celebrating Soccer Genius Successes.
Email me at:
charles@enlightenedsoccer.com
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Greetings Soccer Genius in Training!
That's right. I said "in Training"!
We are all in training for some part of our Soccer Genius adventure.
Are you reading to dive deeper into that long-term, life-long journey?
I know I am.
So, let's dive in together and discover more about the world of healthy long-term development for those youth players in our care.
From My Soccer Genius to Yours!
Charles Cotton
charles@enlightenedsoccer.com
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Charles' "Better Out Than In!"
| Focus on "Age Appropriate Competition for Long-Term Development"
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Featured Article
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Competition Begins Within: The Top 7 Benefits of Self-Competition for Long-Term Soccer Success
Self-competition is one of the hallmarks of the Soccer Genius Training programs. 7 and 8 year old developing players (Level 1 SGT) start to compete 'against, with and for' themselves through a series of ongoing personal challenges. How many juggles can they do in 30 seconds? How far can they fingertip focus dribble without looking at the ball? What rules have they mastered this week? Can they beat there best score to date? The list goes on and on (and on) throughout the 11 levels of the program.
The players are literally building a huge reservoir of positive life and soccer skills by modeling and practicing 'internal competition'. These skills have tremendous benefits for them on and off the field.
The Top 7 Benefits are:
- Developing an internal or 'intrinsic' reward habit. The most successful people in life have learned to find the rewards of their successes within themselves.
- Cultivating personal discipline. Deciding to compete within to be your best you requires discipline - the kind that coaches love and opponents admire and respect.
- Increased Self-Honesty. When we accept the challenge of competing within ourselves we are asked to be completely honest with both the effort and the result. This often translates into greater personal responsibility for our actions and greater acceptance of the outcomes of those actions.
- Positive Self-Motivation. Continuous self-competition models a type of 'can-do, will-do, am-doing' attitude that has a positive ripple-effect throughout ones life.
- Realistic Positive Self-Image. Young players who are brought up in an environment of consistent and supportive self-competition show a more realistic and positive self-image. They learn to appreciate what they can do well and what they will continue to do even better with further practice and commitment.
- Increased Self-Awareness. A developing player learns a lot about themselves when they turn their focus towards their own competition. They get a clear and objective picture of what they can and cannot currently do.
- Endless Hours of Entertainment. Self-competition teaches the player countless ways to entertain themselves - even during those times when training feels more like work than fun. They learn to make everything a game, which is a mighty great life skill. One that will serve them very well when they enter the more 'serious' play of adult competitive soccer.
I would also add to this list an Eighth Benefit: The Ability to be Present.
Self-competition brings about a heightened mental focus that is harder to master in a larger group - especially at a younger age. This ability to be present is exactly what elite athletes call "being in the Zone". We serve our young athletes well by including and reinforcing this skill early in their sporting life.
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Start Training Positive Self-Belief Early
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We live in a fascinating time of personal growth and development. So-called "self-help" sections of bookstores and internet sites have literally exploded in the last 20 years. The vast majority of these books and programs are targeted toward adults going through some sort of career, health or life transition. And a great deal of them are chalk full of tools and techniques to 're-align' one's thinking - particularly the B.S. (belief systems ;) that are running amok in the mental background of our daily lives.
This is all - for the most part - very good stuff and has certainly been of great benefit to countless people all around the world.
The time has come for us to start using these valuable resources at a much younger age so that we can lay a healthy and positive foundation for the children growing up today. The saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" comes strongly to mind.
Research consistently shows that the successful, content, purposeful and fulfilled people in our world have developed a positive self-belief system (lets call it the PSBS) over the course of their lives. This PSBS has consistent and measurable qualities from person to person and includes:
- A positive self-image
- A generalized sense of optimism - that 'can-do, will-do' attitude
- A learned ability to thrive in challenging times
- An inner self-leadership guidance
- A sense of greater purpose and/or connection to a larger reason for being
- The ability to pick oneself back up after a fall
- And much more...
Being a father of three beautiful young children, I have experienced first hand the power of teaching positive self-belief at an early age. In fact, it is because of my role as a parent that I understand just how hugely important this life skillset is right from day one.
I firmly believe that every child deserves positive self-belief 'training' and education as part of their long-term development. This is exactly why I include it as a major part of the Soccer Genius Training programs.
This is the way of the Soccer Genius.
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Weekly Genius Tech Tipd
Each week in this section I include a detailed description of a specific technical skill or ability. This information is offered to help you achieve technical mastery through perfect practice. After all, if you're going to practice you might as well do it perfectly!
Breathing Mastery
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Proper breathing technique is an essential human skill and is incredibly important for athletes. Surprisingly, it is practically NEVER taught to developing soccer players. As a result, many players are unconsciously learning incorrect breathing habits that are affecting their on-field performances and ability to realize their full athletic capacity.
Thankfully these habits can be corrected fairly quickly with consistent and technically correct practice, as follows:
Preparing the body:
- Stand with your legs approximately shoulder width apart.
- Bend knees slightly.
- Weight is a balanced in the center of both feet.
- Back is straight.
- Arms at the sides 2-3” (5-8cm) away
from body with
a ¼ bend at elbows, relaxed.
- Palms facing in toward the sides
of the body (not out or back)
- Fingers are open without strain. (no clenched fists)
- Face is relaxed.
- Eyes focused 5-6 feet in front of the feet.
Breathing the body:
- Begin taking in air in through the nose.
- As you do so, imagine that you are drawing the air down in through the top of your head (as if you were a balloon that was being slowly blown up)
- Keep your shoulders relaxed and down.
- Allow the air to fill your stomach, lower back and in between the ribs.
- Let your hips be free to move back as the air fills your lower abdomen.
- Naturally release the breath through your gently open mouth.
- Squeeze slightly on your stomach muscles to release all of the air.
- Notice that your hips will rock forward as you do so.
- Continue the intake of air through your nose.
- Repeat the cycle.
- Feel your body develop a natural rocking rhythm of air moving in and out.
- Continue breathing this way for 1-3 minutes.
Note how you feel in your body.
It is important to let the breathing happen naturally without forcing anything. Areas of the body (often times the upper chest and hips) may 'resist' this natural rhythm. That's okay. Just continue the practice and imagine your body breathing this way. The more you can visualize yourself like this the more your body will naturally adapt to the rhythm over time.
Enjoy!
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Weekly Genius Success Habitd
Each week I provide a Genius Success Habit for you to practice perfectly for the next 7 days. If you're already doing the habit, then keep on keeping on!
And did you know that practicing the habit everyday for at least 42 days will give you a
far greater likelihood of making it a permanent success habit.
Some habits are harder to practice and make part of our life than others. Some are guaranteed to push a few buttons, as well.
adsf
| This week's Genius Success Habit
Accept Who You Are
You are the only you that you can be. You cannot be anyone
else. Accept it.
This can be hard. Our minds like to compare everything and enjoy the preoccupation with thinking about the past and the uncertain future.
Are you spending time trying to be someone else's idea or vision of who you are? Do you wish you were less like 'you' and more like 'someone' else?
I encourage you to spend the week ahead accepting all of who you are - the 'good' and the 'bad', the 'beautiful' and the 'ugly', the 'accepting' and the 'rejecting'.
It's another Genius Success Habit worth starting today!
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See you next week!
Thanks for spending your time enjoying this week's Soccer Genius Planet.
Be on the look out for next week's issue loaded with new tips, challenges and more words from the heart, mind and spirit of Charles.
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