Mental strength in football and importance.
It is the individual resilience and confidence that predict success or a positive result at the end of the match. If an individual can’t endure, success may not be attained as it is a pillar from which it stem and the driving force is the confidence which is the feeling or belief that desired results will be reaped despite challenges.
Every good thing comes at a cost, there’s no sweet without sweat. Hard work must always be there. If someone is not strong mentally he can easily get derailed and fail to continue working hard to attain his/her goals.
Every success is founded on the ability to endure and confidence that the desired results will be achieved no matter what.
The ZamFoot Crew had a sit down with Green Buffaloes goalkeeper Fred Joe Silwamba to discuss this topic and understand how he has managed to get to where he is today despite the challenges he has faced in his career.
“To be honest with you, football is a very frustrating career and only the strong survive, upcoming and those who are already established need always to be psyched for unforeseen events, upcoming players need to continue working hard, and when I say hard I mean extra hard because it’s very competitive out there but despite all this, the mind needs to be prepared for everything as you know it’s difficult to get a lucrative offer but this doesn’t mean it impossible to reach great heights,” Silwamba told the ZamFoot Crew.
“Established players don’t have to get derailed and just aim for one thing, they need to think beyond one club and nation,Anangu ba coach baisa bambi tabalekufwaya(even when a new comes in and doesn’t want you) you need to keep pushing because it’s your life te life yaba coach(it’s not the life of the coach) so always as a player you need to know your lane and goal in the field of football,” Silwamba added.
Focus: is a state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition by paying particular attention to a thing.
Football involves a lot of things including a ball, for one to succeed they need to see the ball and the field of play as an office.
If football is not taken seriously with clear marked goals, the road map becomes rough and the player might not succeed. A player needs to set up what he wants to achieve and when. The player should stick to the road map despite the challenges which may arise on the way. He needs to develop the ability to get past any obstacle and always work in the interest of a set target.
It becomes frustrating for an upcoming player if he sees things not working out for him and it becomes worse if he sees things working out for others but a bemba proverb says ‘mango taipila pamo (mangoes don’t all become ripe at once). If you see things are working out for others, ask them the secret and always wish them well, show all this by emulating them.
What has helped me in this career where I have been for close to 16 years is the focus, I have always aimed high despite the challenges that I have encountered e.g my first time in my career to concede the way am conceding in almost every game, previously I used to concede once in three to six games but this hasn’t gotten me frustrated but rather it is a challenge I need to overcome, so all players and especially upcoming ones they need to see challenges as an opportunity and not to shrink.
“Upcoming players and established players need to respect that ball,Ilya bola tuteya bapompamo fye umwela (that ball we play they just inflate it with air) but to be honest that ball contains more than air as it has mansions, vehicles, keeping a family but because ilatanuka(it bounces) it looks silly but if you respect that ball and treasure it you can achieve a lot of things and become a rich man. Players need to view it as a source of every nice thing by always being focused and not do what it wants like ukutemwisha abanakashi(liking too many women) for example.”
Nimbleness or Agility
It is the ability to change the body’s position efficiently through the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, and endurance.
Agility inculcates all important aspects of football required to get positive results as it combines skill, coordination, speed, and endurance the four most important factors in football.
These are things that don’t just come, they come with hard work in training. You can be a good player but if you can’t grip the ball then you won’t make the best out of it and no team or coach would want to have such a player.
“I always make sure I go early for training and put in more than my friends, I make sure I play a leading role in every task the coach gives the team and what I do mostly after training when have remained with some time I remain when the training session ends so that I practice on my own because bola niwemwine (football is personal) so that I polish up in areas I feel that I need extra attention and this is what all players who want to be and remain great should be doing pantu ukuba uwakosa pa bola tafisa fye ni training(to be strong on the ball requires hard training,” Silwamba told the ZamFoot Crew.
Discipline and its importance in football
Discipline: is the practice to obey rules and code of behavior set.
Football is a game that is centered on discipline. Without discipline, a player can’t go far in the sport. Discipline in football decentralizes from on-field to off-field behavior.
When on the field, a player needs to play to the instruction of the coach and referee. A player should never disobey the set rules as he will cost himself and the team. They need to put into practice what they have been practicing in training, they need to play to the tactics of the coach and play to the whistle of the referee. Not at any point should a player get frustrated and do what is not required, the important aspect here is not getting frustrated.
Off the field, a player should watch his steps and not do anything unstipulated since he is alone and away from the team should he think he can do anything which is prohibited because he is hidden. Nothing is hidden on this earth, what is done out of a field of play will be shown on the field of play.
Football doesn’t allow womanizing, excessive drinking, and binge eating. Womanizing depletes energy levels has it has been found that sex depletes energy like a hard labor job and football needs a lot of energy to play for 90 minutes. Excessive drinking depletes energy levels because all the energies in the body will be channeled to the liver to detoxify alcohol. After all, the liver is a vital organ and needs lots of energy. It is easier to lose energy than to gain.
Binge eating or eating anyhow distorts energy efficiency, certain food does not give much energy and if a player doesn’t choose what to eat, he will end with low energy levels and will not play well. Clubbing also depletes energy levels. A player will waste the energy, instead of resting to reserve energy, he will go out and have unnecessary fun which will waste his energy levels, and in the morning the time he decides to go home, training or play a match, he won’t have enough energy to carry out the task at full strength. These are players we see who fail to play even for an hour in a match.
“I don’t drink and have vowed to never drink in my football career cause have seen how alcohol has ruined many football players, I don’t party or womanize because I know the results and in my life to be very honest have never used juju ne nembo nshakwata pamubili pandi(I don’t even have traditional tattoos) and advise to other players is to always put Jehovah first than anything else because juju na fimbi na fimbi tafibomba(charms don’t work) in football but maybe to others but for m,e, I don’t think they do,” Fred Joe Silwamba said in an exclusive interview with the ZamFoot Crew.
Nutrition
Body energy requirements are different depending on weight. A player weighing 50 Kg can not be served the same quantity of the food as a player weighing 70 Kg. So a player needs to be given and eat the right quantity of food and for example, when they are in camp they should not be given the same quantity of food.
Players need to eat food that will build their muscles for football and energy. Not all food gives much energy, the best is to consult a nutritionist if available or do some research online
“We lose more energy during training and matches iyo tufwile ukubwesha(which we need to replenish), what I do personally after training I consult from the team doctor and other people who know about nutrition on what I need to eat after each particular training and match pa kuti nshitanine umubili(I don’t deprive the body) what it wants and I also ask what to eat so that I remain strong as you know its not all food that a player needs to eat so ifi fintu kwipusha (these things its to ask) from those who know better.”
If a player doesn’t have enough energy stores he won’t play competitively, if the muscles are not well built he won’t withstand the opponents’ pressure on the ball.
A football career can be as long as James Chamanga, Joseph Musonda, and Winston Kalengo if you follow the above key points but if not you may just fade out like a lot before you and be forgotten easily.
