After Setback Jackson Makes Team

Meet Believe in it® Athlete Jackson Gouvin.  In late May Jackson accepted a spot on the Liverpool FC Academy U11 team in Lexington, South Carolina. 

A year ago he tried out for an Academy team and was cut.  His dad said, "His initial disappointment turned into serious motivation."

They found the Online Soccer Academy videos and the one about me not making a team to help Jackson improve.  He was inspired.  They trained consistently all year long.  

Even a serious illness couldn't prevent Jackson from making the team this year.  Right around the time of Academy evaluations he came down with a bacterial infection.  The infection in his stomach caused him to lose 10 pounds and miss the last two weeks of school.  

Despite all of this he was able to overcome the odds and earn his spot in the team.

Jackson is proof that small improvements daily equal big improvements over time.  

Congrats to Jackson!  I am very proud of him!  He is a Believe in it® Athlete and his dad says, "He proudly wears his Believe in it® bracelet!"

Goal - Chase Down Every Ball by Diego Arias - Believe in it® Athlete Spotlight

Goal scored by Diego Ariasto win the game at 1-0 in the New York Cup and launch WPA Academy( White Plains Milan) to the round of 16. Never give up on a play and chase down every ball. #Believeinit

Pictured above, in the middle, is Diego Arias.  In late March Diego posted a video on youtube of him scoring a goal.  The title was of his post wasn't "Amazing Goal" or "Incredible Goal" it was "Goal: Chase Every Ball Down (never give up on a play)".

Motivated athletes tend to want to inspire others.  Diego is no different.  This goal is a valuable lesson on why you don't give up on a play.  

Diego shared his video with me when he posted it and said, "I got my Believe in it® bracelet today and wore it under my left hand glove in my game.  It helped as I scored the winning goal by never giving up on the ball and chasing the goalkeeper down.  Thank you for all your help!"

Congrats to Diego!  You are a #Believeinit Athlete.  Keep it up!

James Scores 2 in Ireland Championship Match - OSA Player Spotlight

James Jennings is an OSA player from Ireland.  James, age 13, recently helped lead his team to a Championship at the SFAI Cup Final.  The SFAI stands for the schoolboys football association of Ireland.  

A few months ago James was a substitute player and told he wasn't physically and mentally strong enough.  Instead of reacting negative to his coaches feedback, he reacted positive.  He found our "How to be Aggressive" OSA video.  

This video changed his mentality.  In the past two months he's turned a big corner.  He's a regular starter, he's been moved to forward and he regularly scores goals.  

In fact, he scored 2 goals in their 4-1 Championship game.  Below is one of them.  

James Jennings 2nd Goal for St. Francis FC in Irelands U14s SFAI National Cup Final, May 2014, making it 3:1. The final score was 4:1

We are proud of you James.  You are proof that hard work and the Believe in it® attitude pays off.  

Below is a story about James growing up in Ireland as told by his dad in the form of an email to me.  I think it gives great insight into James as a player but also to what the youth football system in Ireland is like.  A lot of which sounds similar to what most players around the world go through.  

Even though their grass is greener (the fields look so nice in the picture!) don't always think the grass is greener on the other side.  Players all over the world struggle and fight with similar issues.  Be like James and choose to react positive. 

The words Andrew Jennings...

James (age 13) has been playing soccer at the highest league level since he started ‘competing’ as they did in Ireland at U8’s levels.

James was a September boy when the age group started in January, and while very quick and skillful, was often overlooked and pushed into the  fringes of teams.

Having said that James showed great promise, so much so despite being ‘badly’ treated in Dublin he managed to get an open invitation from Hull City AFC to train with their Academy team whenever in Hull England.  What was great about England is that the age group starts in September making James one of the oldest when he played, giving him the advantage of the’ age effect’

This season was no different many others, the team before ‘fell apart’ and James had to move on.  This time into one of the big teams in Dublin, St. Francis FC.  

He again he had to fight for his place on the team.  Once again as the team needed to win games James was again pushed into the fringes of the team.  To be fair to James while this was tearing me up inside he was handling it well, keeping his head down and working hard, very hard.

Some of the criticism of James was he wasn’t ‘physically and mentally strong enough’.  To some extent I agreed with that but when I asked the coaches what they where going to do about it they had no answers.   I wasn’t going to change James good nature by abusing him just to win matches.  I appreciated his coaches very much but I needed to find help for James. 

I did my research and I come across your web site and found your Online Soccer Academy video about being aggressive on youtube. 

It was exactly what I was looking for James.  Something James could understand and accept.

He certainly wasn’t going to go out there and hurt anyone.  He watched it a few times this season.

Its been a slow turn around but it was the point where I saw James change as a player.  Not only did he change his mindset to what I like to call ‘positive aggression’ but it helped that he grew ‘taller and stronger’ faster than those around him.

In the last two months he has just blown everyone away.

He is a regular starting eleven, moved into a forward position and regularly scores goals!

Karia Johannes from Michigan - OSA Player Spotlight

Meet Karia Johannes from Michigan.  Karia is a Believe in it® Athlete and she is our OSA player spotlight this week.  

Small improvements daily equal big improvements over time.  Women on the USWNT had an "it" like her's when they were her age.  

Good luck to you Karia!

The Dehner Boys - OSA Player Spotlight

The Dehner boys are Online Soccer Academy players from Maryland.  Colin and Ryan watch OSA videos, practice regularly and are Believe in it® Athletes.  It's common for them to have 8 or so neighborhood players playing at their backyard field of dreams.

I had the honor of coaching Colin and Ryan a few weeks ago at our OSA Soccer Clinic in Bel Air, Maryland.  They were good, worked hard and improved quick but what I loved the most was their passion.  Even though we were playing 4v4 on a basketball court (due to rain) the game meant something to them.  You could see it in their eyes and how they celebrated when a goal was scored.  Passion for the game is important.

They reminded me of me when I was their age.  

Keep it up boys.  Small improvements daily equal big improvements over time.