Fairfield may have offered me a spot, but the journey is far from over. There should never be one final destination in soccer or any other occupation you have. If you are passionate about getting better in anything you undertake, you should never settle for being as good as you are. Every day should be seen as another 24-hour opportunity to get better. The path is not easy, and it is riddled with complacency and pessimism, but the one who goes out and practices day after day, simply for the sake of practicing, is the one who is on the path of mastery.
Success and becoming better in whatever occupation you are undertaking only happens from hours and hours of grinding on the “plateau”, so to speak. The plateau is the place where every athlete finds himself at many points in his or her career. It’s the place where you will work for hours and hours and hours before seeing any improvement. The plateau is what discourages most people from ever attempting to get better, because they are only focused on the result, and not the process. I didn’t realize this until around January of my sophomore year. I had played in 2 games as a freshman and saw a fairly substantial increase in playing time during the 2011 season when we won the MAAC Conference. I only started one game though, and I wanted become a full-time starter in 2012 more than anything. I was willing to sacrifice sleep, video-games, partying, and anything else that did not truly matter to me. I came to this decision while on my way to visit my friend Jon in England over winter break.
During the eight hour flight, I managed to read two books; The first was Tim Tebow’s book “Through my Eyes” and the second was “Mastery” by George Leonard. I was amazed at how much effort Tim Tebow put into everything that he did. He knew that the one thing he could control was how hard he worked, and he would not let anyone outwork him. In reading “Mastery”, I began to understand that success wasn’t about the number of awards I won or the recognition I received, but instead was all about practicing day after day. By the time I had returned to the states, I had a new perspective on what it would take for me to become a better player.
Success and becoming better in whatever occupation you are undertaking only happens from hours and hours of grinding on the “plateau”, so to speak. The plateau is the place where every athlete finds himself at many points in his or her career. It’s the place where you will work for hours and hours and hours before seeing any improvement. The plateau is what discourages most people from ever attempting to get better, because they are only focused on the result, and not the process. I didn’t realize this until around January of my sophomore year. I had played in 2 games as a freshman and saw a fairly substantial increase in playing time during the 2011 season when we won the MAAC Conference. I only started one game though, and I wanted become a full-time starter in 2012 more than anything. I was willing to sacrifice sleep, video-games, partying, and anything else that did not truly matter to me. I came to this decision while on my way to visit my friend Jon in England over winter break.
During the eight hour flight, I managed to read two books; The first was Tim Tebow’s book “Through my Eyes” and the second was “Mastery” by George Leonard. I was amazed at how much effort Tim Tebow put into everything that he did. He knew that the one thing he could control was how hard he worked, and he would not let anyone outwork him. In reading “Mastery”, I began to understand that success wasn’t about the number of awards I won or the recognition I received, but instead was all about practicing day after day. By the time I had returned to the states, I had a new perspective on what it would take for me to become a better player.
As absurd as it sounds, I woke up every single weekday at 5:30 AM and drove to the local high school’s turf field. During the first couple months, it was too dark to see the ball, so I had to use the light from a nearby floodlight on the field. For an hour and a half I worked exclusively on my technique, doing foot-skill drills and anything else I could think of that would benefit me. I would work for 1 minute, and then rest for a minute by juggling. By the end of the session, I would guess I had gotten around 4,000 touches on the ball. Multiply that by 5 days a week and I was getting 20,000 touches on the ball every single week. I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about being tired in training if we had it that day, or a little more fatigued for team lifting or running. All that mattered was that I became better on the ball, which was the only thing that could keep me from becoming a full-time starter.
After the first few weeks, I saw tremendous improvement in my confidence on the ball, but then for the next month or so, I didn’t see as much. But I knew it wasn’t about seeing the improvement every day, even though it was always nice to know that your hard work was paying off. The most important part was practicing just for the sake of practicing. I began to juggle a size 1 ball, and then progressed to a tennis ball. By the end of the spring I was getting close to 80 juggles on the tennis ball.
After the first few weeks, I saw tremendous improvement in my confidence on the ball, but then for the next month or so, I didn’t see as much. But I knew it wasn’t about seeing the improvement every day, even though it was always nice to know that your hard work was paying off. The most important part was practicing just for the sake of practicing. I began to juggle a size 1 ball, and then progressed to a tennis ball. By the end of the spring I was getting close to 80 juggles on the tennis ball.
I carried this routine forward all the way through the spring. By our last game against Fordham, I could truly see the strides I had made. I had this incredible self-belief that every time I received the ball, I would connect a pass. The best players in the world never lose the ball, and that became my goal every game. To the best of my ability, I knew I was going to keep the ball every single time and make positive decisions when I was in possession.
And so with that improvement I look toward the 2012 season. There are very few things you can control in soccer. One of the few things you can control is how hard you work when no one else is watching. It’s all well and good to do extra sprints after practice when the coach is watching, but it’s another thing entirely to work as hard as you can when you know you won’t be receiving instant gratification or praise from it. I know that regardless what happens this season, I am a better player now than I was eight months ago, and I know I will be a better player next year than I am now.
Video of Matt Danaher training on his own to become a better player. The song is called "The Mighty Rio Grande" with words from Will Smith.
And so with that improvement I look toward the 2012 season. There are very few things you can control in soccer. One of the few things you can control is how hard you work when no one else is watching. It’s all well and good to do extra sprints after practice when the coach is watching, but it’s another thing entirely to work as hard as you can when you know you won’t be receiving instant gratification or praise from it. I know that regardless what happens this season, I am a better player now than I was eight months ago, and I know I will be a better player next year than I am now.
Video of Matt Danaher training on his own to become a better player. The song is called "The Mighty Rio Grande" with words from Will Smith.
Success from Matt Danaher on Vimeo.
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