 Today's question is from a player who is struggling with being very afraid or scared when they have the ball at their feet and I've outlined a couple things that I want you and him to focus on to remove this problem. And what he said was, I have a big problem that is ruining my career. I'm always scared when I have the ball. Can you help me get over this problem so I can play carefree and do my best on the field? Thanks, Dylan. So this problem started before you even stepped on the field. This problem started when you were driving in the game, you were in the locker room lacing up your boots and you were getting really nervous because you were visualizing in your mind everything that was going to go wrong. You were visualizing, seeing yourself in your mind having bad touches, screwing up, giving away possession, missing chances, failing, you were visualizing yourself making mistakes and failing and you were visualizing everyone pointing at you, laughing at you, yelling at you before you even stepped out there, before you even did anything. Okay, you're also having that negative self-talk, that doubt in your mind saying when you get it, you're going to screw up, last time you played so bad, you're probably going to do that again. It's that little voice of self-doubt that says you're not good enough, you can't do this. Those visualizations, negative self-talk, in your mind, before you even stepped out on the pitch, you already set yourself up to fail. That's one big reason why you're very afraid when you get the ball because when you do finally get that ball at your feet, all those thoughts come back in. So you were thinking about that, you were visualizing before, now you're in the game on the field and you're visualizing it again instead of focusing on what you can control, like making good decisions, playing the game that you actually love, focusing on whatever technique you must produce in that moment, you're thinking about everything that could go wrong. You're thinking about your teammates getting upset with you, that jerk on your team who always yells at you when you make mistakes, your coach who gets frustrated and is probably going to sub you off because he did last game. You're focusing on everything that's out of your control, okay? So let's correct that. The confident player on the other side of things, before the game he's getting excited, he's thinking about all the things that are going to go well, he's saying yes, you're going to do great, you're going to kill these guys, you've been training hard, you're better than them, you're smarter than them, you're faster than them, you can do this, okay? That's the voice in his head and the visualizations in his head are, yes, you're going to play quick, you're going to go hard into your tackles, you're going to win your headers, he's visualizing himself doing all these things in his head, he's visualizing himself scoring goals, making passes, dribbling through players, he's positively visualizing everything he's going to do well on the field. So if you have those positive visualizations, that positive self-talk, right there, you're setting yourself up to succeed. In the moment, just focus on what you're actually doing. Don't worry about anything else. Just focus on having a good first touch. Don't think about screwing up your first touch. Don't think about this guy coming to intercept the ball. Don't think about him intercepting your pass or missing a shot. Focus on the technique. Be present in the moment and focus on the technique. The other reason you're probably afraid and scared when you have the ball is because you don't know what to do. You haven't made a simple plan for yourself to follow when you're out there so you know what to do when you have the ball. And if you know what you want to do when you have the ball at your feet, you're not going to be afraid because you're just focusing on executing. So to keep it simple, when you have the ball, make it very simple. Two things to do. Either attack, how do you attack? You either pass the ball to a teammate in a better position than you, or you start dribbling into space without hesitation. You start attacking the net. If you can't do that, keep possession of the ball. Do not give away the ball cheaply. Just do those two things. Make it very simple for yourself. And in order to know where the space is or know where your teammates are, know if you can attack or not, you have to play with your head up. So if you're just always looking at the ball, just following the ball, following the ball around the field, you don't know what's going on around. Okay, you need to be more like this type of player. Yes, I'm focused on the ball, but I'm also focused on the space. I'm focused on the ball, but I'm focused on the defenders. I'm focused on the ball, but I'm focused on my teammates. Okay, I am aware of what's around me just by looking around, being alert. Focus on the game. Don't focus on all that negativity that's going on in your mind or all the things that could possibly go wrong. Just focus on being in the game. How can I be more aware? Just looking around, analyzing the field. Okay, and then when you get the ball, you'll know, oh, there's space here. I know my teammates are already there. So, boom, I can play that one touch. Okay, just being more alert and knowing, trying to figure out what you want to do before you even get the ball. If you can be productive with your thoughts, saying, how can I play quicker? How can I be more confident when I have the ball? Rather than thinking about, oh, I don't want to be afraid. Try not to be scared. Focusing on negative. Again, it all comes down to right here. It's all in your mind. Just being afraid, being nervous, being scared, not being confident. It's all here in your mind. And you have to take responsibility for those thoughts. Lots of players are like, oh, I'm just not that confident or I'm always afraid and it's not my fault. It's not my fault. I always doubt myself. It's all your fault. And until you take responsibility, I'm saying that in the most productive way possible. It's all your fault. If that's going wrong, it's your fault. So no one else's. So take responsibility. Once you take responsibility, you can change that and you can get away from all these bad habits and you can move towards being the player that you want to be. So take responsibility. Ask yourself, productively, how can I change this rather than just complaining about your lack of confidence or being afraid or being scared? And you'll change that and you'll move in the right direction. And just start to build your confidence by making those simple plays. So if you're always afraid and scared, just say, okay, I'm just gonna get it and play very simple. I'm gonna play very simple today. I'm just gonna get it and give it to my teammates. And over time, you build up that confidence and the next time you get it, you'll be like, okay, I'm confident. You know what? I'm gonna take this guy on or I'm gonna play a more advanced through ball or I'm gonna take the shot. Score the goal. Okay, so just let's keep it simple like that for today. It starts in your mind, guys. It's all mental. Start with those positive visualizations. Catch yourself with those negative visualizations. Catch yourself with that negative self-talk. Change it to positive. When you get out there, just focus on being in the moment. Focus on the technique. Don't focus on this jerk over here who yells at you or your coach who always gets upset or the fans. Just focus on the game. Focus on doing what you want with the ball. Focus on your positioning. Focus on playing. Just be in the moment. Focus on playing. When you get the ball, know what you wanna do. Either attack or keep possession, okay? And if you can keep it simple like that, there's no reason you should be afraid and start building up your confidence by making those simple plays and then you can start taking more risks. But this is a long-term thing. If you're really struggling with this right now, it's not gonna change overnight. You can improve it in one training session simply by making these changes, but you need to stay on top of yourself and stay, okay, today, I'm gonna become a little more confident. A little more confident, be a little more positive and keep moving in the right direction. And eventually, you'll never be afraid when you have the ball. You'll love to have the ball because you'll be doing productive things with it. You'll be a dangerous player who makes things happen. So thank you so much for watching this video. I hope it helped you with this specific problem. If you did like this video, give me a thumbs up right now. Click that like button. Please comment below and please share this video with your friends. I'll talk to you guys real soon. I'll see you guys next time. Bye.