I can admit it, some days its hard to get out of bed in the morning. Sleeping is one of my favorite activities and waking up feeling exhausted makes it that much harder to get going. Like millions of others, I eventually get up and go to work but unlike many others I've been blessed with the opportunity to play a game I love and taking advantage of that opportunity for as long as possible keeps me going every morning. You have to have a reason for doing what you're doing or else things will become mundane. I've thought about this a lot recently and I think I can narrow it down to three main motivations that push me through training every day: My passion for competition, my desire to get better, and the pure enjoyment of the game.
I've always told myself the moment I lose my competitive edge will be the day I walk away from the game. As I've gotten older, I've realized that I will probably never lose that desire to compete and I cant say I'm upset about it. I thrive on competing in training every day; whether it's in 5v2, goalkeeper training, or small sided games. I want my quality with my feet to keep me out of the middle, I wan tot be the cleanest goalkeeper in every drill, and I want to win every small sided game I am a part of. I feel like this competitive nature is a necessary attribute for a successful team.
Building off of that competitive nature is a desire to get better. As I get older and my body begins to take longer to recover, I have begun to realize the importance of every rep in training. My focus on the field during training is to take advantage of every rep possible to improve my consistency as a goalkeeper so that it will translate on game days. As a professional, we are asked to work at most 2 hours per day on the field so I think it's important to have a focused and purposeful mentality during that time. Like I said before, one of my main reasons for training is to get better and build consistency in my game.
Focus is important during training but like any other job, I think its important to have fun with what you're doing. Having a love and passion for the game is what has kept me going for so long through the ups and downs but I've begun to realize lately more so than ever how much I really enjoy what I do. I love the work I do on the field and I love the freedom it affords me off of the field. I am extremely grateful for the experiences my job has given me and I try to make sure I enjoy it as much as possible. With all that being said, just make sure you take advantage of every second you have on the pitch. Know what your goals are and enjoy the process to reaching them!
