Throughout my career in professional football, I have observed too many talented players not fulfil their potential. Sometimes players have been unlucky, suffered an injury or not got an opportunity they deserved. But the most common theme I have observed is that the majority of players who fall short often have a lack of adequate coaching support to help them improve their self-awareness and knowledge for how to get better.
My observation is evidenced by scientific research. Nico Van Yperen, a football researcher based in Holland, investigated the characteristics of Dutch players playing in an academy. 15 years later, he was able to see which characteristics predicted success (i.e. professional status). He found two things that successful players did, especially in times of stress, such as suffering from poor performances or lack of progress:
They sought support from others
They made plans of action and followed it
Furthermore, Tynke Toering, another Dutch football, examined the psychological attributes of academy players who progressed to international level and those who did not. She found four things that international players did more often than national players:
Evaluate and reflect on their development
Set their goals and create plans to achieve them
Train with purpose and practice more away from training
Reflect on their progress and make adjustments.
What we can conclude from these studies is that many players are failing to reach their potential because of limited skillsets in reflecting, assessing and evaluating on their performances, as well as an insufficient understanding of how to create goals and effective plans to achieve them. This is often all due to a lack of personal coaching support that even the world's most talented players receive.
This is my reason for creating a Personal Coaching service to aspiring players committed to getting better: to provide players with the knowledge, support and confidence to create effective development plans to take control of their progress and accelerate their performances to new heights.