Mental toughness sets Lloyd apart,
U.S. World Cup hero says she visualized having grand finale
VANCOUVER About two months ago, Carli Lloyd was training alone at a practice field in New Jersey before the USA’s final sendoff series match when she drifted off into World Cup wonderland.
For a few minutes, she pictured herself in the title game having the performance of her life.
“It’s kind of funny,” Lloyd said Sunday after the USA’s 5-2 victory against Japan in the World Cup final. “I’m running and I’m doing sprints and it’s hard, it’s burning, and I just completely zoned out. I dreamed of and visualized playing in the World Cup final and visualized scoring four goals.
“It sounds pretty funny, but that’s what it’s all about. I think at the end of the day you can be physically strong, you can have all the tools out there, but if your mental state isn’t good enough, you can’t bring yourself to bigger and better things. And for me, I’ve just constantly been visualizing, constantly been growing confidence with each and every game, and I was on a mission.”
Though she didn’t roll out four goals, the captain did score three goals within the first 16 minutes, becoming the first player to do so in a Women’s World Cup final.
What sets Lloyd, 32, apart from other athletes is her mental toughness, something she has developed over a 12-year period with her private coach, James Galanis. She practices meditation, goes on 10-minute runs before every match to clear her mind and told family and friends to stay away from Canada so she didn’t have distractions.
It’s a method that clearly works and allows her to execute gamealtering plays. Like scoring on a shot from midfield.
“I’ve dreamed of scoring a shot like that,” said Lloyd, who won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s top player. “I did it once when I was younger on the national team in a training environment. Very rarely do you just wind up and hit it. When you’re feeling good mentally and physically, those plays are just instincts and it just happens.
“I feel like I blacked out in the first 30 minutes or so in that game. It’s just crazy and unbelievable.”
“If your mental state isn’t good enough, you can’t bring yourself to bigger and better things.”
Carli Lloyd