Impact of Mental Coaching- Testimonial

However, this mirage that I intended to reach faded quicker than I had expected. These girls were good- extremely good. Throughout the three days of the camp, I was not the standout player that I had expected myself to be. At that time, the abundance of confidence I had began to shrink smaller and smaller. Instead of feeling like the big fish among small ones, I felt like a minuscule fish among massive ones! Not only was I angry with myself, but I also felt defeated. I had failed. I failed my expectations, my dream, and myself. I felt pathetic. This, conversely, did not urge me to give up. I did not cave in and stop trying- no, it wasn’t over yet- I tried even harder. I had to prove that I was not just an average soccer player. I was trying to think of all the physical things that I could do in the next two days to prove to the coach that I was what they needed on their team. Was it to run faster on the field, to be more aggressive, or maybe more of a leader? I was at a loss.

Up until that Sunday morning, I felt helpless. A storm was coming in, so we did not go to the fields to play. We were told that we were going down to the basement to have a “Tami Session.” Tami Matheny was the women’s team Mental Game Coach. What “the mental game” entailed, I had no idea. What could mental coaching have to do with soccer, and how in the world is this going to make me better?

What I would hear in that next hour, however, would change my life forever. Tami was all about confidence-worrying about what you can control instead of what you have no control over, having affirmations that you say to yourself to boost your confidence-

confidence, confidence, confidence. That’s it! It was not all physical aspects I needed to work on, it was mental. One of the biggest things that impacted me during the session was the fact that failure is not an option. Failure was never to be looked at as a negative, or something that would bring me down. Instead, I was to learn from it and become better because of it. When she spoke about this I felt like I was the only person in the room. I knew that I was meant to hear this, because just hours upon entering the session, I was beating myself up for being a “failure.” I told myself that even if it did not work out, I did not fail, I simply learned.

Even after I got back home from camp, Tami Matheny’s words and stories were engraved in my mind, and I knew I needed more. With that extra push of mental confidence, I knew that I could become a better player on and off the field. WhenI got home, I contacted Tami, and she was more than willing to coach me. I have been mentally training with Tami for the past month now, and what I have learned and attained from her has benefited me tremendously- not only on the field, but in the classroom and in my daily life as well. Now, every time I step foot between those white chalk lines, I do not fail, I learn.