Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Asian Soccer Star, London – Football centres of excellence or academies are what all young, talented footballers are aiming to get signed to. But before we even think about these centres of excellence, Asian Soccer Star readers need to understand where the real centre of excellence lay.

Aristotle first laid the foundations for the real centre of excellence when he said  “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

For those that relate to a more modern day sporting icon,  Shaquille O’Neal was spot on when he said “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do”.

So what does this mean for our Asian Soccer Star readers?

It means that excellence is something every young football player should aim to achieve in every area of their game. And if excellence is achieved through repetition then players must form positive habits.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, in a book titled ‘Psycho-Cybernetics’ introduced the 21-day concept.

Dr Maxwell Maltz was originally a plastic surgeon and noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit.

What this basically means is that the human brain produces neuro-connections and neuro-pathways only if they are bombarded for 21 days in a row; in fact 21-days is the minimum and 30-days is the accepted norm to change old habits or formulate new habits.

Whether it’s a particular skill, a positive self-image, confidence, quick feet, awareness, technical or tactical understanding or any other part of the game; research says that you can form a habit, good or bad, by practicing it everyday for 30-days.

This rule applies not on to the game of football, but to life in general, so go ahead and try it… what have you got to lose?

Most of the professional clubs have already started their pre-season training knowing that effective pre-season football training will go a long way in preparing players to cope with the increasing demands of professional football.

So is pre-season training important in youth football, especially for readers of the Asian soccer star blog?

I think it’s not only important but vital for anyone looking to play professional football, especially anyone with dreams of becoming an Asian soccer star.

You see, it’s what you do outside of team training that can make the vital difference and a much more scientific approach is needed, which combines energy systems training with skill development.

And unless you’re already signed up to a professional academy or centre of excellence you’ll need to find the right training information and experts to help you with a pre-season football training programme.

Infact, it wouldn’t do any harm to supplement the professional academy and centre of excellence training with your own programme.

This is vitally important to ensure that players are in the best possible shape at the start of the season and maintaning their fitness throughout the season.

In future posts and articles we’ll share specific pre-season football training programmes used by our own Asian soccer star which can be adapted for personal use.

But when kids are told they’re not good enough, which is a fair point for the majority, and don’t seem to get the opportunity to move forward. When they’re told that winning isn’t important, it’s all about taking part and having fun. When they’re continuously hammered with the fact that becoming a professional football player, especially for Asians, is like winning the lottery.

When do you give up?

I say never.

The fact is that nearly every hopeful gives up before thay even start. Their self-image gets hammered by everyone close to them, parents, siblings, coaches, teachers… everyone. Deep inside they begin to believe that their dream of becoming an Asian soccer star is just that, a dream.

More than ever, Asian kids need a lot of support if they want to come anywhere near their dream of becoming an Asian soccer star. And that support starts in the home.

Parents have the most influence on the self-image of their child and firstly need to be realistic about the childs talent, determination, commitment, hunger and desire for the game.

They have to find the right coaches, study the best training methods and look at providing the right nutrition. They have to make sure their child plays with the right team at a high level and gets match practice and have to be there to take them to the trainings and matches without fail… come sun, rain, snow or wind.

They have to provide training and development outside normal team practise and seek out experts in speed, agility, strength, core work, injury prevention, fitness, mental development and every other area of the childs development to play at a professional level.

They have to equal and go beyond the training and development provided by the centres of excellence and youth acadamies attached to professional clubs.

Everybody involved has to make sacrifices, and make them willingly and gladly without obligation and seeking gratitude.

And they have to do all this with the aim of their child being scouted for trials at one of these centres or excellence or youth academies.

If you want to realise the dream of becoming an Asian soccer star playing professional football you have to train at least twice as hard, have more determination, commitment, hunger and desire than the competition.

Talent is not enough.