When you are soccer coaching one job is making sure that your players are at their peak performance or playing in the ‘zone’ occurs when you are completely focused on the task at hand. Nothing else matters. The noise and interference of distracting thoughts is completely blocked out. How can you achieve this state of concentration and focus? You must be proactive with your thinking and internal dialogue. That simply means rather than letting random thoughts pop into your head, you should have a fewmental cues to concentrate on during the game. One of the most effective ways is to ask yourself a series of questions throughout the match.
Where is the ball right now?
Where is the ball going next?
Where is my marker?
Where is the best position for me to be right now? Write down a 3-4 questions and memorize them. Set a goal for one of your games just to notice your thoughts. If you find your mind wandering, if you start talking to yourself about something irrelevant, get your focus back on the game by asking your questions.