Following the last article that contained self improvement tips borrowed from sports (golfing), this one comes to greet the soccer fans and satisfy their need to grow.

One of the main reasons why sport tips can be used to improve one’s life is because life is a sport and basic rules are shared between them. They even have the same key elements: players, rules, strategies and goals. It’s no wonder why most people who succeed in some sport often achieve success in all the other aspects of their lives.

The following tips are in raw sports form, meaning that you have to decipher the hidden self improvement messages behind them. After all, learning is a process of encoding nodes and forming connections.

O.K., here are the tips.

1. Communicate

In soccer, as a player advances into the professional level, it becomes very important for him to communicate on the field. That is because the game speeds up and a lonely uncommunicative player isn’t doing much on the field…

Knowing when to ask for help, knowing when to ask for the ball, knowing how to send simple signals and alerts to the other players can be crucial elements in a soccer game.

2. The surprise element

Blind passes are key elements in soccer. A blind pass is when a player dribbles the ball to the right with his right foot and then swings the ball to the left. This is a move that can catch the opposing team unprepared, sleeping.

Sell the idea that you’re going forward when in fact you are swinging the ball over to the opposite side. Teammates will adjust to the expectation that a switch is always coming.

Sometimes you can dribble a few times in the opposite direction you really want to play the ball - to throw the defense off - then you swing the ball to the other side of the field. It doesn’t have to be a long switch, even a quick cut back to the other direction can buy you time.

3. Play with Older Players

To become a great player you should push yourself, and there is no better way to do this than by playing with more experienced players.

To achieve great success in life, you don’t have to necessarily hold great skills, you just need to surround yourself with people who do. This way, in time, you can pick up all of their tricks and skills that they have learned over the years.

This kind of mentoring process is a huge part of improving your game and often you won’t even realize what subtle skills you’ll gain just by watching and playing with better and more experienced players.

4. Slow Down

This doesn’t mean necessarily slowing down your speed of play, rather it’s letting the ball do the work and not forcing anything. Keep your mind moving fast and focused. If there is an open player play them the ball. Then when they get closed down they play the ball back to you.

As a young player, one of the difficult things to learn is patience. This means things like letting the ball do the work. Each time you make a pass the defense changes their position and new things open up at different angles on the field - new spaces to run into, dribble, and pass are created when you move the ball.

Interpretation

Some of you will have absolutely no problem in understanding the messages “behind” (they aren’t really behind) the above tips, but for those of you who had difficulties in “cracking the code,” here’s the key: replace some words - the list is below.

Play = Action; Ball = Idea; Field = Life; Game = Challenge; Players = People (friends, competitors)

Now get out there and score some goals!

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Posted in Life, Success, Tips, Tips for life