It was the first day of practice for the varsity soccer team at my high school. We were all excited to be there, but also a little nervous with anticipation, not knowing exactly what to expect. The first thing my coach did was hand out t-shirts from a box he had brought with him. On the front were four words – “Winners Train, Losers Complain.”

That became our motto for the season. Far too many times in practice were we asked the question “Who do you want to be? Are you a winner or a loser?” We all knew what that question meant. It meant that we had a choice. We could choose to complain, whining that circumstances weren’t fair, and that we couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do what needed to be done to get to the level where we needed to be in order to win. Or we could choose to work, spending our time and energy building ourselves up, trying to be the best that we could be. It wouldn’t be easy, and it would require a choice.

That choice was simple.

Train or Complain?

Today, you face the same choice we faced on that team. You get home from work or school and you’re tired. You’re just plain worn out. You have a choice – you can either go out and spend fifteen minutes with a soccer ball, or you can let the exhaustion beat you. You can tell yourself that it’s just too hard, that life isn’t fair, and there’s no way you can be expected to train with the amount of energy you have. Or you can stand up, put one foot in front of the other, and get out there and work to get better.

One of these choices creates champions.

Which will you choose?

– Justin

If you’re looking for somewhere to start with your individual soccer training, check out our 5 day training plan.