As a former Manchester United youngster and a current goalkeeper for Aston Villa, Tom Heaton sure had his share of popularity. His passion couldn’t remain unnoticed during his time in Burnley when he became known as “the man to beat.”
This is a player that everyone can learn from. He’s not just about technique. He has that extra something to make him successful on the field. Plus, his charisma quickly made him a fan favourite.
The 33-year-old is known for a series of flawless performances, which made us wonder: what’s his secret to success? Can we extract a few rules from his game and character?
1. Consistency
Heaton has been through many injuries throughout his career. Recently, he was ruled out of the rest of the season, and it became certain that he will miss playing for England during the summer of the Euro 2020 campaign.
This latest knee ligament injury is serious. Will it make him give up? No. Heaton is working on his recovery, and we’ll soon see him in his full form again.
Consistency is one of the most important character traits of great football players. They aren’t stuck in a fixed mindset. They might get disappointed, but it doesn’t take them long before they get up on their feet and work towards recovery. This trait is also one of the most held up by successful people. Sometimes the lack of it is caused by working too hard. PrintSuccess helps people be reminded that everyday is an opportunity to get better.
2. Infectious Attitude towards Training
Training, training, and more training.
If you imagine Heaton as a student, he wouldn’t be the one who gives up upon facing the first obstacle. He would rather hire UK.EduBirdie than skip submitting an assignment. He would practice improving his writing skills, and he would get better every time. His commitment to practice is something that all students can learn from.
Tom’s team members have praised him for his stamina and dedication to training.
3. Efficient Communication
The best goalkeepers aren’t focused on saving. They are focused on preventing a save in the first place. Tom Heaton is an impressive communicator. He has a view of the entire field, and he knows how to organize the team from his position.
He is known for keeping the defence dense, so he can disable the opponent from finding a gap.
Keeping a goal is not just about protecting that small area. It’s about contributing to the game by guiding the players. In that case, the goalkeeper doesn’t have to touch the ball too many times during a game.
Heaton is not one of those keepers to sit deep. He is known for stepping up, without putting his goal in danger.
4. A Loss Is Not a Reason to Give Up
Can you name one goalkeeper who has never taken a goal? There is no such player. There is no team that has never lost. It’s a sport. Sometimes you lose, but the goal is to keep winning after that.
Heaton is just human. He is emotional about each game he plays. But after receiving a goal, we don’t see him giving up. He organizes the defence better, so he would prevent another score on the opponent’s side.
That’s the kind of mindset that keeps a winner winning.
5. It’s All About the Teamwork
A great goalkeeper knows that the achievements of the entire team depend on their performance, but their performance is also conditioned by the performance of the team.
Football is not the kind of sport that allows you to reach your goals by individual play. It’s all about teamwork, and the rule applies to everyone.
Heaton knows when to follow and when to lead. He knows how to take up a leadership role in the defence, but he never loses focus from teamwork.
A Great Player Can Handle the Pressure As any other English football player, Heaton has received his fair share of criticism and praise. He’s constantly under the watchful eye of critics and fans, but he remains cool and untouched.
That’s another lesson we can learn: no matter what people have to say, keep doing your thing and you’ll do well. Nothing should disturb your focus. If you’re sure that you’re on a good way to achieving your goals, keep going.
We have a lot to learn from many English footballers. Heaton is a clean example of attitude and commitment that work in competitive sports.
