This issue of front volley we look at the role of being a substitute player on your soccer team. Now some of you might say, “I’m too good to be a sub. I always start.”

Wow, from that response it is easy to tell that you haven’t played soccer long or should I say long enough. Even if you have started for the last four years, still you have not played long enough. Whether it is tomorrow or five years from now, something will happen that will put you on the substitute’s bench. It doesn’t have to be because you are not good. What if you’re coming back from an injury and your coach decides to put you in at the end of the game to help regain your confidence and rhythm?” Circumstances can and will put you on the subs bench one time or another.

So once you’re on that bench, what should you think of? A sub must know how to be a factor! They must either know how to change the game or keep producing what the team is already doing without missing a beat. Why else are you there?

For sure it is not to bring the game down to a lower-level. Stop believing that the role of a sub is to receive a couple of mercy minutes at the end of each half. A subs job is to contribute with the skills and abilities that they have to continue the game moving in your teams favor. It is a positive contribution, maybe not at the rate of some of the other players, but positive none-the-less.

It is okay to ask yourself the question, “What if I am not as good as the player I’m replacing.” Well, since you are unique you will bring an aspect to the game that the player you replaced did not. It may just be with your effort, or it could be with your heading ability. It is your uniqueness that matters now, not what the team has just lost.

So, as you’re on the bench, find the spots in the game where you can contribute. Study the opponent that you are probably going to be playing against and find their weaknesses. Figure out how your talents can beat them. When you get on the field, execute your personal plan without hesitation. Of course if your coach has given you instructions you should carry those out, but at the same time you will need to overcome your competition as they appear.

With your plan and a focused mind you will play the role of a super sub not just a player who is being swept under the rug.

All Smiles on the Field,

Kamal de Gregory

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 4:04 am and is filed under Soccer World, Kamal de Gregory (Soccer Luminary), Front Volley (Ezine). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.