The Sunday News
Cosmas Zulu
Fitness requires a combination of physical and mental fitness. It is in our present state of knowledge impossible to determine where physical fitness ends and mental fitness starts.
It is impossible to state with any certainty the influence which a player’s physical state has upon his mental state or vice versa.
The two are not only inter-related, they are woven like a golden thread through the whole of soccer.
Fatigue causes techniques to deteriorate, concentration to lapse and judgment to falter thus skill is not a reliable asset unless it is accompanied by fitness.
Without attempting to draw final conclusion and analysis of the times at which goals are scored in matches, I give some interesting statics. Goals at 30 percent are scored in the last 15 minutes of the game and 22 percent are scored in the last five minutes.
Mental concentration
This has to be ingrained as a habit and an attitude of mind without concentration and thinking about what one is doing the game is reduced to a lottery and the game as a battle of wits does not take place.
Correct techniques
The wider the range of techniques the greater the possibility of being equal to the technical demands.
Seeing and perceiving
There is a vast difference between seeing and perceiving. There are some players who are essentially “one-eyed” only seeing the play on one side of the field, usually it is the side they happen to be on at the time.
Often an incorrect body position of the player or a poor supporting angle precludes the player from having a wider range of vision.
Players need to learn to play with their heads up surveying constantly the changing positions of the ball and players they also need perception to interpret what all the information means, without perception seeing means very little.
Decision and judgments
Players should be encouraged to understand that soccer is a game of decisions. It is better to make a wrong decision than no decision at all.
Action
This is the application and the application is the implementation of the decision with single-minded purpose. Soccer is very much a game of mistakes and the biggest mistakes are not to make a decision or to change one’s mind in the midst of applying a decision.
Did you know?
-Manchester City was founded in 1887 as Ardiwick FC becoming City in 1894.
– Manchester United was founded in 1878 as Newton Health FC becoming Manchester United in 1902.
– The first goal scored in the World Cup was credited to Luis Laurent in a game against Mexico on 14 July 1930 in Montevide, Uruguay. France won 4-1.
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