Focused for Soccer [Paperback]

Bill Beswick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2000

Successful soccer players understand the game, have the skills to execute the techniques and tactics, and are conditioned to meet the physical demands of the sport. A fourth and equally important factor in soccer success is mental toughness. Being a champion requires concentration, discipline, motivation, and a positive attitude.

Now players can learn to meet and overcome the mental challenges of intense competition with Focused for Soccer. This book alone delivers such in-depth, easy-to-follow guidelines for maximizing individual performance on the soccer field.

Focused for Soccer will help you sharpen mental skills and unleash your full potential. Better than general sport psychology text, Focused for Soccer is filled with practical tips and step-by-step techniques that transfer directly to the game. Part of Human Kinetics' popular Focused for Sports series, this book makes the case that physical skills and conditioning must be combined with psychological skills to be a champion.

European coach and sport psychologist Bill Beswick is the world's leading authority on the mental aspects of soccer performance. Beswick's insights and anecdotes enrich the expert instruction throughout the book. He explains how he has applied the training techniques successfully in his many years as a coach and consultant.

Beswick begins by helping you create an honest player assessment and a plan of action. He then guides you through every key factor of the mental game that will improve performance, including positive outlook, intensity of actions, imagination, winning attitudes, healthy competitiveness, and true teamwork. In many sections, the author shows techniques used by professional athletes and sport psychologists to boost performance to a higher level.

Encouraging athletes to play "first with the head, then with the heart," Focused for Soccer is a players' and coaches' guide to all of the psychological tools necessary to become a soccer champion. It is an invaluable tool for improving the foundation of your game and an outstanding guidebook for any physical athletic training program.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"To win at any level, players and coaches have to develop the attitudes that create competitive performance. Developing such mental toughness is an everyday process, and in this book, Bill Beswick provides invaluable practical advice. For me, this book is not just a worthwhile read, it's also a necessary reference I can consult as my team experiences the highs and lows of competitive soccer."
Steve McClaren,
England Head Coach

Review

“To win at any level, players and coaches have to develop the attitudes that create competitive performance. Developing such mental toughness is an everyday process, and in this book, Bill Beswick provides invaluable practical advice. For me, this book is not just a worthwhile read, it's also a necessary reference I can consult as my team experiences the highs and lows of competitive soccer.”

Steve McClaren,
England Head Coach

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (November 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736030026
• ISBN-13: 978-0736030021
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Beswick is a leader in the field of sport psychology and is especially known for his work with professional soccer teams. He has a master's degree, five years of experience as head coach of England's men's basketball team, and substantial experience in teaching, lecturing, and coaching, all of which make him ideally suited as the first full-time sport psychologist in English professional soccer. From 1996 to 1999 Beswick helped Derby County Football Club compete in the world's toughest league, the English Premier League. He then took a job with Manchester United, perhaps the world's best-known soccer club. There he worked with players and coaches to build mental toughness and competitiveness in an environment where the team is expected to win every time it takes the field.

When Manchester United and England assistant coach Steve McClaren was appointed manager of Middlesbrough Football Club in 2001, he surprised the soccer world by appointing Beswick as his assistant manager, the most senior role for a sport psychologist in the history of British soccer. For five seasons Beswick supported McClaren during Middlesbrough's most successful period in history. From 2006 to 2007 Beswick was psychologist with England's national men's team. Following a spell at Sunderland FC, Bill at present provides specialist advice to clubs in England, Holland, and the United States while continuing to develop Sportsmind Ltd., a company that has provided sports psychology services and resource materials to coaches and athletes for more than 20 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for serious soccer coaches, January 30, 2001

By 

Stosh D. Walsh (near Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Focused for Soccer (Paperback)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressed, June 20, 2006

By 

S. Ruggles (NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Focused for Soccer (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book written on sport psychology and soccer, November 9, 2010

By 

Brent Erwin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Focused for Soccer - 2nd Edition (Paperback)

Bill Beswick is arguably the foremost expert in the world on Sport Psychology, attitude and peak performance in soccer today. I have been fortunate to see him speak many times in person at the NSCAA Convention, where his presentations are always must see events, as well as in Dallas at coaching clinics. Every time I hear Bill speak I feel fortunate because I leave the experience a better coach and I am energized to get to work! Focused for Soccer will become a must read guide for you and your players as it presents a road map to success in soccer performance. The book is well laid out and is a great read with fantastic stories from Bill and all of the players and teams he has worked with throughout his career. You will go back to certain section of the book again and again to be reminded of the path to success and to be inspired. The second addition is completely updated and has some great sections dealing with the female athletes and their motivational and performance needs. This is the most influential book on soccer performance I have ever read. I recommend it and know you will love it!