By OkayGoal 
Mistakes are guaranteed in soccer. In fact, mistakes are a fact of life itself. Even the best players in the world misplace passes, shank open shots, and lose 1v1 battles. What separates good players from great ones isn’t perfection, it’s how they respond. That’s where the “next play” mentality comes in.
The “next play” mentality means you don’t stay stuck on the last mistake or even the last highlight. You mentally reset and fully commit to what happens next. It sounds simple, but under game pressure, it’s a trained skill. Just like ball control and conditioning are skills you train, the “next play” mentality takes practice in the moment to improve.
I can tell you from experience. My worst games weren’t when I made mistakes, they were when I mentally stayed inside them, letting them distract me from focusing on the next play. When you carry a mistake with you, it gets inside your head, and you’re more likely to repeat that or another mistake. My best performances often came after errors when I reset quickly. Your reset speed is a hidden performance weapon.
What the “Next Play” Mentality Really Means
Next Play doesn’t mean pretending a mistake didn’t happen. It means:
- Acknowledge it quickly.
- Identify the correction.
- Release it.
- Re-engage immediately.
Soccer is continuous. There’s no pause button or time-outs. If you’re replaying your turnover in your head, you’re already late on your defensive recovery run.
Watch elite soccer and you’ll see examples of this constantly:
- After missing a penalty in the 2022 World Cup final, Lionel Messi didn’t hang his head or disappear from the match. He kept demanding the ball and later scored in open play. Reset. Re-engage. Impact.
- After multiple missed chances in big matches, Alex Morgan has often responded by increasing her movement and creating the next opportunity instead of hiding from the ball or sulking over her missed opportunities.
Great players have the end goal of the game in their mind at all times. Their winning mentality helps them get over mistakes quickly to make an impact until the last whistle.
Why Players Get Stuck After Mistakes
Younger soccer players often struggle with resets because:
- They fear judgment from coaches or teammates.
- They connect performance to identity.
- They try to “make up for it” with risky hero plays.
- They mentally replay the error.
At the youth and college levels, I’ve seen players make one bad pass, completely stop their momentum, then avoid checking to the ball for the next five minutes. Sometimes they will carry an attitude of “not good enough” with them through the rest of the game. Those things hurt the team more than the original mistake.
Your brain cannot fully read the field or be involved in the next play while replaying the past. “Next play” mental training is really attention control training.
Real Game Examples of Next Play Response
Think about socceristas you know on your team or at the highest level. They get beaten a lot. It’s just a part of the game. Despite that fact of the sport, the best ones recover instantly.
Naomi Girma, one of the most composed defenders in the women’s game, is known for calm recovery. When beaten, she doesn’t panic, foul, or mentally spiral. She repositions, refocuses her mind, and wins the next duel. That composure is trained.
At the youth level, you’ll see this too. The strongest center backs aren’t the ones who never get beat, they’re the ones who sprint to recover and win the next tackle.
Or consider goalkeepers. They have no choice but to live in “next play” mode.
Top keepers like Alyssa Naeher have given up tough goals in major tournaments. What happened next is that she then made game-saving stops minutes later. Goalkeepers who can’t reset don’t last long. Every keeper learns: next shot, next moment.
How to Stay Grounded in the Moment
Grounding is physical before it’s mental. Use this fast reset sequence:
Exhale fully: Long breath out calms your nervous system.
Physical cue: Clap, tap your thigh, adjust shin guards.
Verbal cue: Short phrases such as, “Next ball”, “Reset”, or “I’m here”.
Immediate movement: Check in, press defensively, recover, or show for the pass.
Movement pulls your brain back into the present.
How to Train the Next Play Mentality
This is not just game-day practice and discipline, it’s a weekly training habit.
Mistake-Recovery Drills
Build “next play” reset behavior into practice:
- Small-sided games where turnovers require instant pressure.
- Passing drills where mistakes are followed by a successful pass.
- Finishing drills where a miss is immediately followed by another shot.
College training environments do this constantly. You miss, the next ball is already coming.
The 3-Second Reset Rule
Train this response window:
Second 1: Acknowledge.
Second 2: Cue phrase.
Second 3: Action.
No emotional self talk in your head. Reset and go. Think of your brain as a blank slate after a mistake.
Film Study With Reset Focus
When reviewing film:
Watch the mistake once.
Name the correction.
Watch for your next positive action.
It’s important to train your brain to connect mistakes with solutions. Be careful not to loop mistakes over and over.
Change Your Self-Talk Language
Performance language beats emotional language.
Instead of: “I blew it.”
Use: “Simple next pass.” “Strong next touch.” “Win this duel.”
Specific instruction improves performance. Criticism will freeze it.
The Truth: Reset Players Earn Trust
Coaches at higher levels don’t expect flawless players. What they are looking for is composed ones. Composure is where trust is built. The athletes who reset fastest will get more minutes and more responsibility. Soccer is won by the players that respond the best to mistakes. This gives them the mental edge and usually the performance edge too!
Train your tactics. Train your skills. Train your fitness. And train your “next play” reset. Your next play is always more powerful than your last mistake.
Image via @uncwomenssoccer