Training for anything is hard. Whether it be getting ready for tryouts, training for a 5k, or trying to lose weight, it will never be easy. That moment when you have to get out of bed early to train, or give up hanging out with your friends because you have to practice will never be easy. You will ALWAYS be giving up something fun or comfortable when you set out on a path to become great at something else.
So why do it? Why give up on the comfort of sleep just to go train and do something difficult? Two reasons, actually. The first is that it is WORTH IT. You will have to give things up and go through pain to achieve your goals, because this is how growth happens. However, I’m here to tell you that you’ll be glad you did. In the end, you’re giving up something good (sleep, recreational time, etc) to achieve something great (making the team, running a 5k, etc). It feels like you’re missing out because you are, but in the end, you’ll be getting something even better.
The other reason you should put yourself through the difficulty of training is that while it will never get easier, you will get stronger. It will ALWAYS be a struggle to choose to train, because training is hard, and we always want to choose the easy path. However, as you train, you get stronger, and it gets harder to quit. You’ve already put in the effort, so you want to continue on your path. You’ve seen results, and you want to see how far those results can take you.
However, you need to get started training and stick with it in order to see those results. The most difficult part of climbing a mountain is when you’re standing at the base, looking up. You could quit there easily, because you haven’t put anything into the climb yet. When you’re halfway up the mountain, you don’t want to stop because of the effort you’ve already put in.
So here’s my advice –
START!
Start practicing for tryouts. Start running every day to train for your 5k. Get some effort sunk into your endeavor so that you have something invested in it. Just remember – as you get stronger, it gets harder to walk away.
It doesn’t get easier
You just get better
– Justin
If you’re looking for some individual soccer drills to help get you started on the path to success, check out our 5 day training plan.
Image attribution – In Soccer We Trust By Abdulrahman AlZe3bi
