I want to be an Asian soccer star now!

Kids who dream of becoming Asian soccer stars, like kids from any other community, are in danger of losing their dreams by living a life of 'instant gratification' or 'I want it now'.

Living in a world where everything is available in an instant is a major factor in breeding a culture of laziness and lack of fitness.

Want proof? Go watch a Sunday youth league match.

So what's happening?

It's simple, kids are following our example as adults. It's like eating a piece of cake. If I ask you, "which part of the cake would you eat first?". At least 99% of you will opt for your favourite part, and it's the same for everything else in life.

We want to do the things we enjoy most first and we want to do them now. It's the same for kids.

The old saying "no pain, no pleasure" is lost to most people.

Why have pain when we can just enjoy the pleasure?

Well, this attitude is having a real negative affect on the attitude of our kids. They want to play professional soccer but many aren't ready to put the hard work in. They want to play 'beautiful' soccer, working on their showy skills, but when it comes to match play the lack of fitness and work ethic is there to be seen.

The best way to keep the dream of becoming an Asian soccer star, or any soccer star for that matter, is to have a change in mindset. Work on the hard stuff, the things you least enjoy doing but are essential, first. Get them out of the way before doing the stuff you do enjoy.

In other words work on the fitness, speed and agility first. Get them out of the way and you'll have a lot more time to spend on developing the skills.

After all, i'm sure most people will agree to having an hour of pain before a couple of hours of pleasure.