Mark's Confidence Was At An All-Time Low. The Boss Didn't Rate Him. The Fans Slagged Him Off. Six Months Later He Was The Player Of The Year. And Now His Confidence Is Sky-High!
'Match Of The Day' Had Already Started When He Called Me...
The phone call came late on a Saturday evening. In fact Match Of The Day had already started.
I knew then, that it must be pretty urgent. A problem. My business phone doesn't normally ring, at that time of night. Mark's tone of voice told me everything.
Mark is a professional footballer. He's plied his trade at a good level for some time now. He's an honest pro. Always tries to put a shift in. But recently, he had started to doubt himself. Doubt his ability to cut it.
Little did he know at the time, but that late night Saturday call, probably saved Mark's career.
The FA Coaching Manual Doesn't Explain How To Rebuild Lost Confidence...
My email-box is filled on a weekly basis, with enquires from anxious footballers like Mark. They want the answer, to one of the games great riddles.
'I've lost my confidence. 'How can I get it back. ASAP!
Radio Five Live and Sky Sports News contact me on a regular basis, to explain to the viewers, why a certain team has appeared to lose their confidence.
Confidence is one of the great enigmas in football. Maybe the greatest enigma. It doesn't matter if you have been in the game all your life. There is no coaching manual, or FA course that adequately explains how to regain lost confidence.
It has remained one of the unexplained mysteries of the game. One week you have confidence - the next it's gone. But no one seems to know why. Not even Sir Alex Ferguson. When you lose confidence, you don't know where your next good game will come from.
For the last twenty four years, I have been researching confidence...what it is...where it goes when we lose it...how to regain it. Studying the best-kept secrets of the worlds most confident performers in sport. For me, confidence is not an enigma.
I now coach and lecture around the world, on the subject of confidence. My book The Confidence Booster Workout has sold over 150,000 copies, and been translated into 5 languages.
I help professional players like Mark, who turn to me to rebuild their confidence. I know why footballers lose confidence...and more importantly how to get it back.
The Old-School Manager Destroyed Confidence...
So - back to Mark. A new manager had been brought in, a few months previously. Coincidentally, around the time Mark's problems began. The new boss was a bit old-school. Never said an encouraging word. Always looking for faults in players. Criticising. He thought it kept players on their toes. Mark hated it.
Anyway, that afternoon at home to Blackpool, he'd been subbed by the boss. He hadn't played well, he'd admit that. Maybe trying too hard to impress. But it was one of those games when nothing went right for Mark.
And as he came off, some of the home fans jeered him. This had never happened before. Ever. Did they not know, how much their criticism hurt him?
Apparently, some so called 'supporters' started insulting his wife, sat innocently in the Main Stand. But it was all symptomatic of the negative culture at the club.
That was the straw that broke the camels back. And why Mark called me, at nearly eleven o'clock on a Saturday night.
He'd been given my name by Simon, a former colleague, whom I helped last season. And Mark was at a very low ebb. We chatted for about half an hour or so. Or rather Mark talked and I listened. He was looking for support, from someone outside of the football club. Someone that would not go straight to the manager, and tell him that Mark had lost his confidence.
I listened to his story. How his confidence was being destroyed by the management team. How he was thinking of giving up the game. I told him to get some sleep, and we agreed to meet on Monday.
Mark's Confidence Comes Back...
So, we met up after Monday training. We talked for a couple of hours. I knew there and then, that Mark would come through this experience. He was that sort of person. But I knew he couldn't do it alone.
Mark enjoyed that fact, that he had found someone who believed in him. Said that it was the first time in ages, that he had felt positive about the future.
We agreed to work together, for the rest of the season. Mark and I would meet up face to face, once a month. The rest of the time, I supported Mark with regular phone calls. After training. Before and after matches.
Slowly his confidence started to grow. I gave him strategies to cope with the negativity around him. I would watch his matches, and give him feedback.
But most of all, I was there to support him. Encourage him. Believe in him. Which was critical, in the negative atmosphere of that football club.
By now he was exiled to the reserves. The manager had barely said a word to him, since subbing him that afternoon. But Mark had a plan. A plan to rebuild his confidence. And a plan to get his first team place back again.
Mark Wins Player Of The Year...
Mark started to raise his level in training. And he put in some very solid performances for the reserves. But it wasn't a true test for him, playing against teenagers. He was much better than that.
Six weeks later a colleague got injured. And so. Mark got a chance in the first team again. It was no surprise to me, that he won Man Of The Match that day against Burnley. He was awesome. Never missed a tackle. Kept things simple. Encouraged others. Showed composure under pressure. Superb. He'd proved his point.
From that day against Burnley, Mark went from strength to strength. The culture in the club was still pretty bad. But he had now learnt, to rise above it. Game after game, he got better and better.
At the end of a difficult season, he was voted club Player Of The Year. The fans had recognised the courage and strength of mind, Mark had shown in overcoming adversity.
He called to thank me, after the Awards Night. Said he really appreciated our partnership, and the support. And that he would be only too pleased, to let me tell his story on the website. I'm delighted for Mark.
Here's Who I Have Helped Recently...
- An international defender, who had been left out in the cold, regain his place
in the national team. - A player who had become resigned to permanent reserve team football, become club Player Of The Year
- A defender who had been in the game for ten years, score his first ever first team goal.
- An experienced player whose future looked uncertain, secure a two year deal.
- A young player who had lost confidence, not only break through into the first team, but win international honours.
So - I am uniquely placed to help you get your confidence back.
It's No Fun When You Play With Fear...
There are many factors that can cause you to lose confidence. Often it can be down to poor management, like in Mark's case.
Or it can be a critical crowd that gets on your back, after every mistake. Maybe there is a lot of negativity in the dressing room.
Once confidence has gone, doubt and uncertainty take over. Fear of defeat leads to indecision and costly mistakes.
You find yourself out of the first team. Exiled to the reserves like Mark was. And no one at the club knows what to do or say.
'Keep it going son' they chirp. 'Keep your head down' and you'll be back. 'All you need is one good game'. 'Sure', you say. But how do you get a good game under your belt, if you have lost your confidence? You need the confidence, to play well in the first place, don't you?
Micky Adams Was Sceptical�
Micky Adams once asked me, in his typically direct way, if I had some sort of magic pill to restore lost confidence. Difficult one to answer that.
The best response I could give Micky, was to take his defender who had lost all confidence in his game, and fix the problem. I did that in 30 mins over the phone.
Micky's player was man of the match the next game. Micky was pretty happy I can tell you.
The Professional Darts Players Association employ me, as their recognized expert on confidence. Why? Because I know where confidence goes when a player loses it. And more importantly, I know how to help them get it back.
Here's How To Recover Lost Confidence...
So yes - My confidence coaching will help you get your confidence back. You may have thought of calling someone like me before. But maybe you weren't sure what was involved. Or even if it would work?
Never mind what the lads would say, if they found out you had been seeing a Confidence Coach! (Don't worry - everything we do, will take place in the strictest confidence. I do not talk to the press or radio, about the work I do with my clients).
If you have never experienced the power of confidence coaching before, then I would like to offer you the chance of working with me.
The first step is to arrange an initial meeting or phone call. In this call, I will show you how to take your game to another level.
If you want to kick-start the 2009-10 season, then this is the time to act. You know better than I do, that a positive end to the season, can set up you up for the next campaign.
Here's The Next Step...
So - here's the chance to get your career moving forward immediately.
Option 1: CALL ME ON - 077897 56425
Option 2: Or fill in the form below, then send it to me using the 'Start Coaching' button at the end of the form. You will then receive an invitation from me, via email or phone, to arrange a time to speak.
Remember - you could wait and hope that by magic, your confidence returns. But experience tells me that rarely happens. There is a reason why you have lost your confidence. The sooner we get started, the faster you will be back to your confident best.
The reason that Mark's late night call to me probably saved his career, was because, as Mark explained, because if he hadn't rebuilt his confidence, there and then, he wouldn't have got back into the first team.
Then he would have been released at the end of the season, and drifted down the leagues. Shortly after that, he would have retired from the game.
Six months after starting work with me, Mark was offered a new three year deal, that gives him and his family, financial security for life.
What are your remaining goals for the 2009-10 season? Working with me will make them a reality.
