Boise, Idaho

Last update: 03-21-2011
www.realboisesoccer.com

REAL BOISE SOCCER 

MENTAL CONDITIONING PROGRAM 

2010-2011

• Spring 2011 Program and Schedule

• Fall 2010 Schedule

• Program Notes by Paola Lamberti and Barbara Leitzinger

• The Importance of Mental Toughness by Paola Lamberti, Club Director of  Mental Conditioning

When we are involved in any kind of sports it is very important to stress that the success as an athlete to reach high performance depends on several factors. These factors all play a valuable role in reaching our goals. These factors include physical training, tactical and technical ability, mental training and the desire or drive.

I am working with the Real Boise teams on trying to identify what their goals and desires are in soccer. Then realizing that they can turn a weakness into strength. My goal is to offer the tools in mental conditioning so that they can improve as athletes.

An athlete in order to perform better needs to realize that how they “think “affects how you feel and perform. Keep in mind that training our brain is as important as training your body. We have to teach these athletes to use their minds more constructively and this way you can learn to be focused.

In all sports like in life our future and success depends on many things but the most importantly on “you”. You and no one else can make things happen. The power to succeed or fail is yours. How we choose to look at something is going to affect how you feel and perform. Here is where we emphasize that the event is not the most important things it is how we respond to the situation. It is learning that we can’t control the situation but we can control our selves.

We will be working on clearing our mind, relaxing our bodies and seeing in our minds what the body will be doing. This is a short exercise that the athletes can practice at home or before the game times.

See Paola Lamberti's Profile

• Mental Conditioning: “Why do it, and how is it done?”—by Barbara Leitzinger, former Club Director of Mental Conditioning.

We’ve all heard stats that athletics is something like 10-30% physical, and 60-90% mental. Research repeatedly finds that peak performers have an uncanny ability to focus their mind to accomplish amazing feats; weight lifters lift 20% more weight after practicing mental training techniques, swimmers hold their breath 45-seconds longer under water, mountain climbers able to reach higher elevations with less oxygen intake. It’s learning about what we can control. We can control our effort and the tasks we’re working on, we can’t control other people or the situations around us. If we focus on things within our control we will be less susceptible to distraction…which is the enemy of peak performance.

My short, weekly, mental training activities will be centered mainly on 2 of the many concepts of mental conditioning: Relaxation and Visualization. We’ll start with fundamentals. For the first two weeks we’ll focus on “progressive relaxation”. We’ll tense our muscle groups, then release, and concentrate on the feeling of letting the tension flow from our bodies. The goal is to learn to identify tension…then know how to release it. It’s an amazingly easy and short activity, but it is ineffective without PRACTICE.

HOMEWORK: Have your player practice the progressive relaxation technique nightly, in bed, before he goes to sleep. (Research shows that practice before sleep results in the highest benefit).

Who is Coach Leitzinger, and what does she know? 

I’m the drama teacher at Lowell Scott, and a main element of being a good actor, or singer, or any performer is learning to stay focused, and in-the-moment. If a performer drops their focus and starts reacting to the sights of the audience, they’ll often become paralyzed by stage fright. As I learn and teach these mental activities in my drama class, I see how these skills can cross over into athletics and into further aspects of life.  I’m now studying “mental training in sports”, and I consider it a privilege to experiment and hone my skills as a teacher with this club.

FALL 2010 - MENTAL CONDITIONING SCHEDULE

This schedule takes effect the week after Orientation Week (Aug 16-20, 2010)

Mental Conditioning Coaches  >>>	Paola Lamberti	Keaton Skyles	Barbara Leitzinger	Juanjo Carmona
Week 1 (Week of Aug 23rd)	U13 Boys: Mondays or Saturdays	U11 Girls: Wednesdays or Saturdays	U13 Girls: Thursdays	U15 Boys: TBA
Week 2 (Week of Aug 30th)	U15/16 Girls: Wednesdays or Saturdays	N/A: Training is every other week	U12 Girls: Thursdays	U15 Boys: TBA
Successive weeks: Week of Sep 6th to Week of Oct 25th (inclusive)	- Continue this pattern until the week of  Oct 25th (inclusive) - Half of the sessions at practice and half at games.

Note: Mental Conditioning Coaches will work with their team's head coaches to specify when a session is during practice (begining or end of practice) OR during a game on Saturdays.

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SPRING 2010 - MENTAL CONDITIONING SCHEDULE (March and April. May: TBD)