Mental Strength: The Crucial Message Your Body Language Screams
Youth Soccer Players, as well as Professional Players, need to Pay Attention to Body Language. What Does Your Body Language Say About Your Abilities, Determination, and Confidence?
Body language speaks louder than words—especially in soccer.
From how a player stands after a missed shot to their posture when receiving a pass, nonverbal cues can influence coaches, teammates, and opponents. For youth soccer players aspiring to go pro, mastering body language is just as important as developing technical skills. A confident stance, strong eye contact, and positive reactions to mistakes can set players apart in tryouts, matches, and training sessions. This article Dan Abrahams explores how body language impacts performance, mental strength, and a player’s journey toward professional soccer. 
In Soccer: Body Language Checks
This is what body language does more than anything else. It helps you shape the meaning of your actions at any given time.
As an individual and as a teammate, think about this now and when you are on the field. Capture yourself like a camera lens. What does excellent, powerful and confident body language look like?
I recently returned from a trip to Philadelphia, where I presented at the United Soccer Coaches Convention. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present to an audience of about five hundred soccer coaches, all of whom were looking for cutting-edge ideas to take back to their home clubs, colleges, schools, and organizations.
I started with what I think is one of the most electrifying videos I’ve ever seen related to the mental side of the sport. I showed them a brief clip of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and France.
Now, I know rugby isn’t a massive sport in the U.S., but I have to say the audience was transfixed by what they saw. I didn’t actually show them any clips of the game itself. The footage I exposed them to was from before the game. And even the least enthusiastic rugby fans probably know what I showed, especially when New Zealand is involved.
Yes, I showed the Haka. But no, it wasn’t the Haka that I had the audience pay attention to. It was the French team and what they specifically did during the Kiwis’ legendary war dance. The French team formed into an arrow or spear as the New Zealand players went through their ferocious dance.
As the Haka continued, the French players started to walk forward towards it, piercing its heart.
OK, SO WHAT I HEAR YOU SAY. WHAT DIFFERENCE WOULD THAT MAKE?
For me, the reason the French team did this was to change the meaning of the Haka. The French were creating a new meaning, one that says, ‘We’re not scared of your Haka; in fact, we’re going to pierce it. We are stronger and more powerful. We will play front-foot rugby. We will play to win. We will be aggressive.’
In short, the French team used their body language, both as individuals and as a collective, to express how they felt about the situation and the final.
‘WE ARE COMING FOR YOU. WE DRIVE FORWARD TOWARDS YOU.’
SO WHEN YOU RUN ONTO THE PITCH FOR AN IMPORTANT SOCCER MATCH STRIVE TO KEEP INCREDIBLE BODY LANGUAGE.
Run onto the pitch on your toes, alert, alive, and lively. Shape yourself into the kind of player you want to be, and hold the sensations that hit your body as you run, move, and play.
Hold the sensations that surge through your body as you run, move and play.
So, what happened in that rugby final? Well, it was nearly one of the greatest upsets in rugby history. The French team was the overwhelming underdogs, but they lost … but they possessed the power to drive a hard-to-win game.
My challenge to you is to find out what your ‘spear’ and your ‘arrow’ are.
WHAT DOES GREAT BODY LANGUAGE LOOK LIKE TO YOU?
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A global sports psychologist and author specializing in soccer, Dan Abrahams is based in England and works with professional soccer players in the English Premier League (EPL). Abrahams has worked with hundreds of soccer players – many who play in the English Premier League (EPL). From working with players at Crystal Palace, QPR, Fulham, and West Ham among others, Abrahams counsels players on how to play at peak performance. Abrahams has authored several books and has a Soccer Academy as well.
