The story of tennis player Jack Draper could be an example of how focusing on overcoming weaknesses can help athletes change in a positive way. The British tennis player started playing professionally in 2018, officially participating in ATP tournaments 3 years later. With a height of 1m93, Draper is considered a "giant" and can be among the group of new generation tennis players who can challenge the world to the top.
However, surprisingly, Draper has health problems and is allergic to the weather. He was sick before a number of important matches, sometimes even vomiting on the field. And so, he had to work hard to improve the situation. In particular, the 23-year-old tennis player - who had a Tube since childhood, learned how to... breathe, and hired a breathing coach to change.
As a result, from the second half of 2024 to now, he has won 3 trophies (no previous titles), most recently Indian Wells, after surpassing Taylor Fritz (seed number 3), Carlos Alcaraz (2) and beating Holger Rune (6) in the final.
For the majority of Vietnamese sports athletes in general and football in particular, physical fitness and mentality are considered weaknesses when entering major tournaments. Domestic football shows that clearly, when the role of foreign players - with a large physique and superior strength - is always great at clubs. Very few domestic players can compete fairly and therefore, physical losses are an excuse used to justify poor results.
However, looking at the world, if not Lionel Messi with his genius qualities, there are still many other small players who make a special mark. For example, in the list of the Portuguese National Team for this FIFA Days in March, they called up 6 midfielders, 3 of whom were only 1m72 to 1m74 tall, not to mention 2 strikers - including Geovany Quenda, who is only 17 years old, who is only 1m72 tall.
That is, if they think physical factors as weaknesses, they compensate for that with speed, endurance, technique or the thinking of playing football. Of course, everything requires training and time, but the problem is, are the players themselves, the team, the football community interested in changing the mentality and improving the problem? ?
