Speaker: Lirak Hasani
Please introduce yourself and the current football club you play for.
Lirak Hasani: My name is and I play for South Shields on loan from gate.
Lirak Hasani: Hi, my name is and I play for South Shields on loan from Gateshead.
How did working on your mentality improve your game? and what was the biggest improvement?
Lirak Hasani: Working on my mentality gave me an awareness of how much of an impact my thoughts have on my performance. So I learned to analyze how my preparation and my reactions to mistakes. And just the way I've been thinking in the game, how it could have an effect on my performance. And so I've been learning to, you know, through positive self talk and through good preparation, put myself in the best position where I'm confident going into games. And even after mistakes, I, I still try and play the way I play and don't let, don't let mistakes affect me.
Did you realise the importance of developing your mentality before you worked with us?
Lirak Hasani: Being a young player, I never really gave much thought to the mental side. I didn't really have much knowledge on the effects of it wasn't until I was going through some highs and lows and the way it was affecting my performance is that I realized it's not just training and games that could affect it. Um It was the mental side. So Cops helped me become aware of that. He gave me a lot of information on what it is that was affecting the way I was performing, what it could be and what I could do to help it.
What percentage would you assign to mentality/mindset in your role as a player and have you continued to develop it?
Lirak Hasani: I think mindset is the biggest thing as a player. I'd say it's got an 80% role in you as a complete player. I just think it unlocks everything. So no matter how much, you know, on the tactical side, no matter how much you work on your technical, your physical, I just think your mind is what brings it all together. So if you don't have that, it doesn't matter all the skills in the world, your mind is what unlocks it all. I've constantly tried to improve it. I'm still in the process of just learning myself as a player, learning myself as a person and what helps me perform the best. But yeah, I try and um try and constantly improve in that side of the game.
Do you think players work on their mentality enough? If no, Why do you think this is?
Lirak Hasani: No, I think players could work on their mindset. A lot more myself included. I just think it's the most important thing, but because it's something that can't really be measured. Um I think a lot of players neglect it. They'd rather do things that can be seen such as like gym or work on the training pitch. But I feel like once the time and the, the work goes into the mental side, I think the, the results start to show on the pitch, the performances start to improve.
Would you recommend us to other players? and if so WHY?
Lirak Hasani: I definitely recommend a pro mindset to anybody who wants to improve the mental side of their game to boost their performance. Uh I just think they gave me AAA much bigger understanding of the way my mind works and what I can do to help give myself the best chance to perform on the pitch through whether it be self talk, meditation, journaling, just, just a lot of different techniques that I've, I've learned that I didn't know before.
Describe your overall experience with us?
Lirak Hasani: I worked with the Cops for the last year or two that I was at Doncaster and just the way he helped me day to day with managing the way I'm thinking and just constantly, just trying to help mold mold my, my mind to give myself the best chance possible to perform consistently. He was always giving me advice and just helping me helping me learn what the mind can do to improve my performances.
