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Soccer Tough: Simple Football Psychology Techniques to Improve Your Game
"Take a minute to slip into the mind of one of the world's greatest soccer players and imagine a stadium around you. Picture a performance under the lights and mentally play the perfect game." Technique, speed and tactical execution are crucial components of winning soccer, but it is mental toughness that marks out the very best players - the ability to play when pressure is highest, the opposition is strongest, and fear is greatest. Top players and coaches understand the importance of sport psychology in soccer but how do you actually train your mind to become the best player you can be? Soccer Tough demystifies this crucial side of the game and offers practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence. Soccer Tough will help banish the fear, mistakes, and mental limits that holds players back. Soccer psychology consultant Dan Abrahams shares the powerful techniques that have helped him develop reserve team players to become international players, and guided youth team players from slumps to first team contracts. Covering the mental triumphs of some of the world's leading players - Soccer Tough will help you become the best player you can be. Soccer Tough is for amateur and professional players of all levels, as well as coaches. This book explores how the best soccer players in the world think and gives the reader step-by-step ways to do the same.
180 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
56 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Dan Abrahams
7 books10 followersDan Abrahams is a global sport psychologist, working alongside leading players, teams, coaches and organisations across the world. Dan was a former professional golfer and PGA qualified, he has a First Class Honours degree in psychology and Masters degree in sport psychology. Academically he is a visiting lecturer at several universities and he holds registration with the HCPC. Dan works in all sport but specialises in soccer psychology and golf psychology, plus he also serves the Corporate Sector delivering his sport psychology techniques and philosophies to individuals and group.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 9, 2023
I have read a handful of books on sports psychology, but I particularly enjoyed this one. First of all, it is as simple as the subtitle promises. The author explains what essentially boils down to positive psychology in very easy to understand terms. However, while it is easy to understand, the author conveys a great deal of information, and I learned some things from this book. Secondly, while many of the methods are essentially positive self talk, he does have some good ideas about how to be more intentional about focusing on controllable factors rather than panicking about things that you cannot control.
It is hard to judge a good sports psychology book because there are so many of them on Amazon. However, I am very happy I picked up this one. I think some of his tips will stick with me when I am back on the soccer field.
I highly recommend this book to any soccer or power soccer player.
It is hard to judge a good sports psychology book because there are so many of them on Amazon. However, I am very happy I picked up this one. I think some of his tips will stick with me when I am back on the soccer field.
I highly recommend this book to any soccer or power soccer player.
September 1, 2021
Found it a little hard to read in print so I got it in audio. Think his accent/ diction is charming but hard to read in print so I would recommend the audio version. Prob just me...
a lot of books in this space are very high level... Stay in the present, focus, visualize.... we know, but how???
He does a great job helping to operationalize things... what do you actually need to do to get focused.
the insight that soccer needs you to regulate and match your mental state in the game. So many athletes keep it pegged at 11 and are overhyped at the wrong time.
His podcast is pretty good too !
a lot of books in this space are very high level... Stay in the present, focus, visualize.... we know, but how???
He does a great job helping to operationalize things... what do you actually need to do to get focused.
the insight that soccer needs you to regulate and match your mental state in the game. So many athletes keep it pegged at 11 and are overhyped at the wrong time.
His podcast is pretty good too !
October 11, 2020
Bir spor psikoloğu olan Dan Abrahams’ın bu kitabında kendi yetiştirdiği futbolcular üzerinde deneyimlediği zihinsel ve fiziksel dayanıklılığın gelişimini zevkle okuyabilirsiniz. Ülkemizde ne yazık ki hala çok kabul görmeyen genç sporcu psikolojisi çalışmaları için bu kitap bir referans olabilir. Beşiktaş Akademimizde oynayan tüm oyuncularımıza armağan edeceğim bu kitabı umarım onlar da okurken benim kadar zevk alıp farkındalıklarını artıracaklardır.
August 15, 2019
Great book
I would recommend this book to parents, players and coaches. In this case... Soccer! Everyone says the game is 90% mental. But no one tells you what mental means. In this book you will find lots of ideas.
I would recommend this book to parents, players and coaches. In this case... Soccer! Everyone says the game is 90% mental. But no one tells you what mental means. In this book you will find lots of ideas.
May 17, 2019
Great book.
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Dan keep it up.
Very informative and helpful would highly recommend. Really helps me when playing
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Dan keep it up.
Very informative and helpful would highly recommend. Really helps me when playing
August 31, 2021
Provides plenty of sport psychology concepts that athletes can use to improve their performance. Can also be a helpful read for anyone supporting athletes.
October 7, 2014
This review is taken from my website The Sports Book Review.
Given the fuss made over the fact that the England squad were taking a sports psychologist with them to the Brazil World Cup last summer, you’d think that sports psychology was still some new fad; slightly misunderstood, slightly feared, slightly suspicious. While some of those feeling may well be true for more people than you’d think, the difference that can be made by training your mind to think and perceive differently for sports people at the elite level is considerable.
This book, by the sports psychologist Dan Abrahams who works within football and golf, aims to explain some simple and easy to use techniques which can achieve quick results by focusing the mind in a more productive way, or learning to block out various negative impulses.
One of the most interesting ideas to me was that of a “script” of around three key areas of focus for a player to repeatedly bring to mind throughout a match or training. These should only be focused on things that the player can have control over, such as a striker reminding himself to be constantly moving to make things difficult for his opposing defender. Such a simple technique allows a player to keep the controllable aspects at the forefront of the mind throughout the game. In addition to banishing any focus on something as uncontrollable as the weather and pitch conditions, or what the opposition are doing, assists in keeping the players mind on areas that matter and not on those that are irrelevant.
Other examples include banishing the fear of mistakes or keeping confidence levels high through a shift in mind focus and body language. There is also a fascinating section on killing ANTs, relating to Carlton Cole and the Automatic Negative Thoughts that crept into his mind, as they naturally do to everyone. What is needed is the training to banish them when they appear and to eventually stop them even appearing in the first place. This requires a lot of training of course
Abrahams explains each of these techniques in a very easy to understand style that should make what can be a highly complex subject accessible to many. There are undoubtedly much deeper levels to delve into, but that isn’t the purpose of this book as such. It is intended as an introduction to some simple techniques that can improve any player’s focus, and as a consequence improve their game.
Abrahams has worked within football for around a decade with clubs including Queens Park Rangers, and with some named and unnamed players at varying levels. Those named include Carlton Cole and Anthony Stokes among the more familiar mentioned, and Abrahams gives details of some of the techniques he used to assist them and many others in aspects of their game.
This isn’t an overly deep study of psychology in football, but is a highly usable guide with practical examples that are both easily understood and relatively straightforward is work on and implement for the budding football coach and aspiring player. Even if a player took only one idea forward from this book, their outlook, mindset and focus would see an improvement. And that, at the end of the day, is what this book is all about.
Given the fuss made over the fact that the England squad were taking a sports psychologist with them to the Brazil World Cup last summer, you’d think that sports psychology was still some new fad; slightly misunderstood, slightly feared, slightly suspicious. While some of those feeling may well be true for more people than you’d think, the difference that can be made by training your mind to think and perceive differently for sports people at the elite level is considerable.
This book, by the sports psychologist Dan Abrahams who works within football and golf, aims to explain some simple and easy to use techniques which can achieve quick results by focusing the mind in a more productive way, or learning to block out various negative impulses.
One of the most interesting ideas to me was that of a “script” of around three key areas of focus for a player to repeatedly bring to mind throughout a match or training. These should only be focused on things that the player can have control over, such as a striker reminding himself to be constantly moving to make things difficult for his opposing defender. Such a simple technique allows a player to keep the controllable aspects at the forefront of the mind throughout the game. In addition to banishing any focus on something as uncontrollable as the weather and pitch conditions, or what the opposition are doing, assists in keeping the players mind on areas that matter and not on those that are irrelevant.
Other examples include banishing the fear of mistakes or keeping confidence levels high through a shift in mind focus and body language. There is also a fascinating section on killing ANTs, relating to Carlton Cole and the Automatic Negative Thoughts that crept into his mind, as they naturally do to everyone. What is needed is the training to banish them when they appear and to eventually stop them even appearing in the first place. This requires a lot of training of course
Abrahams explains each of these techniques in a very easy to understand style that should make what can be a highly complex subject accessible to many. There are undoubtedly much deeper levels to delve into, but that isn’t the purpose of this book as such. It is intended as an introduction to some simple techniques that can improve any player’s focus, and as a consequence improve their game.
Abrahams has worked within football for around a decade with clubs including Queens Park Rangers, and with some named and unnamed players at varying levels. Those named include Carlton Cole and Anthony Stokes among the more familiar mentioned, and Abrahams gives details of some of the techniques he used to assist them and many others in aspects of their game.
This isn’t an overly deep study of psychology in football, but is a highly usable guide with practical examples that are both easily understood and relatively straightforward is work on and implement for the budding football coach and aspiring player. Even if a player took only one idea forward from this book, their outlook, mindset and focus would see an improvement. And that, at the end of the day, is what this book is all about.
October 20, 2014
Many players are "practice good," but when it comes to high stakes situations, tend to under-perform. Soccer Tough discusses mindsets and techniques that, when applied with intentional effort, promise to unlock a player's full performance potential.
I found the book to be helpful but repetitive. I'd like to try some of the techniques during my matches, and will be trying to adopt the mindsets related to practice, staying positive, and understanding my scope of influence.
For players of any sport who haven't had the insight of an experienced coach to guide their mindset, this book will be helpful for forming effective mental habits.
I found the book to be helpful but repetitive. I'd like to try some of the techniques during my matches, and will be trying to adopt the mindsets related to practice, staying positive, and understanding my scope of influence.
For players of any sport who haven't had the insight of an experienced coach to guide their mindset, this book will be helpful for forming effective mental habits.
July 20, 2014
Very good. Clear, concise, I read this on the kindle and made a lot of highlights and notes and so this will be a book I refer to a lot regarding general mental training and preparation. Uses examples of clients from all different levels of football: it's not just about elite level performance but about every player maximising their own performance given their talent, so relevant to any player.
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September 24, 2012A must read for any coaches wanting to help their players to reach their potential. Excellent advice.
March 4, 2014
Mental toughness is crucial, top players have a clear and strong futbol image of themselves, high self belief and confidence is what maintains them at the top
April 11, 2017
a great intro to sports psychology.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews