Focused for Soccer

Great Book! Saw Beswick at the SMU coaching clinic and he was absolute spot on in his presentation on the role of the coach and the development of the player in the modern game of soccer.

As a thirteen year veteran of coaching high school and club soccer, it is hard for me not to view any book with a bit of skepticism. So upon purchasing this book I was intrigued to see what Beswick had to say and not positive he could teach me anything new. I was dead wrong, he is fantastic and much of what he writes about can be transferred to sports other than soccer. I was especially impressed with his ideas and examples of assessment tools for coaches and for player self-reflection. I have already begun to create my own versions of them in order to use them with my side this fall. A highly recommended read for players and coaches alike.

Bill Beswick, one of the world's premier sports psychologists (currently employed by England and Manchester United) and an accomplished coach in his own right, has written a book that is destined to take a place on the priority reading list of all aspiring soccer coaches. In it, he describes the mental, emotional, psychological, and lifestyle aspects of a complete player. The book is full of tables, checklists, and charts for self and team assessment, and the book has been beautifully tailored so as to be applicable for both coaches and players. The main strength of this book, though, is its practical recommendations for every topic it addresses (visualization, self-control, team cohesion, confidence, and mental toughness to name a handful). For example, Beswick gives the example of a striker who is not scoring goals in the chapter on confidence. How does the coach, in cooperation with the player, address the situation to help him regain confidence? Beswick asserts that other components of his job description should be brought to his attention (by asking the player), and that he should be encouraged to self-evaluate his performance based on how well he completed all of the aspects of his job description, not just scoring goals. This may sound like a "feel good" tactic at first glance, but Beswick also provides case studies of specific players at the highest levels who were positively affected by this approach (In this case, Dean Sturridge of Derby County). The book encourages a holistic approach to both coaching and playing, and discusses the benefits and potential pitfalls along the way to creating that holistic balance within a team and its players. Indeed, this is the kind of coaching and type of player that must prevail in the future if soccer is to continue to grow and develop, and Bill Beswick has done the sport of soccer and those who love it a distinct service by writing this book.