Strategies to maintain motivation in the initiation of football.
Motivation is a fundamental condition that plays a key role in the initiation stages of sport in general and football in particular. Without motivation, a player does not perform correctly, does not devote the necessary hours and does not train with the required intensity and constancy. In the case of youth football, the lack of motivation is synonymous to the loss of illusion that, at the same time, leads to the abandonment of their practice.
In the early stages of training in football, psychological work is a key aspect; putting motivation into practice is essential to maintain the desired level. All those who influence at this stage, coaches, referees, family and managers, must ensure creative practice and progress.
Motivation helps children stay true to their goals by ensuring a high level of persistence and intensity in their training and, in addition, by recognizing their ability to improve and grow.
Below, from Campus Experience Real Madrid Foundation, we share some strategies to boost motivation in the initiation stage of football:
– Apply motivational strategies so that players are inspired to learn, both in training sessions and in competition.
– Design a creative and dynamic plan of activities, avoiding monotonous training; stay away from high-intensity sessions and work in a disciplined manner providing confidence to children.
– Avoid the early specialization in this stage, giving priority to learning the technical-tactical aspects through varied playful forms.
– Enhance the presence of games as the main element to develop a correct learning of skills.
– Value performance more than results, orienting the competition towards training, diminishing the importance of the results and putting it into practice as a way of learning and developing.
In short, in initiation football it is essential to create an appropriate climate that ensures that children enjoy football throughout their lives. Moving away from results and competitiveness and maintaining a high level of motivation is essential to success.
