Elite Inner Performance

5 LESSONS FROM 2 HOURS WITH DAVID RAYA

I’m fortunate enough to speak to some unreal people in football, but sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to spend time with people who are world class at what they do.

Here are 5 things I took from two hours with David Raya:

1. Do the work before you need the work.

Most players work on their mentality when confidence has gone, they’re out of the team or they’re struggling.

Raya does the work while things are going well.

Before his baby was born, he spent months changing his sleep routine so when the baby arrived during the title run-in, he was already prepared.

2. Deliberately seek discomfort.

Moving countries without speaking the language. Dropping into National League football because U21 football had become comfortable. Ice baths first thing in the morning simply because he doesn’t want to do them.

He doesn’t tolerate discomfort. He goes looking for it.

Pressure isn’t something that suddenly happens on a Saturday. He practises being uncomfortable.

3. Mistakes don’t change his identity.

He made a mistake in the play-off final for Brentford from being aggressive off his line.

The easy response? Become safer.

Instead, Thomas Frank told him to play even higher the following season.

He learned from the mistake without becoming fearful because mistakes are feedback, not failures.

4. He interprets pressure differently.

Where someone else says nerves, he says excitement.

Where someone sees uncertainty as threatening, he sees it as part of why he loves football.

Same situation. Completely different story.

5. His ability to spin the story is elite.

People told him he was too short to be a goalkeeper.

His story?

Being shorter is my advantage. I’m quicker, more explosive and more powerful.

That borders on delusional optimism, which he basically admits himself 😂

But at the highest level, that story serves him.

And despite everything he’s achieved, he was unbelievably humble.

I offered him my book afterwards and he’d only take it if I signed and dedicated it to him.

Top-class guy.

Even if he does play for Arsenal. 😂

Give me 17 minutes and this might just change everything for you.

Slide into my DM’s and I’ll send you the training.

I’ve been trying to get Sophia to ride her bike on the pavement for ages.

Every time she’d get on it, she’d freeze.

“I don’t want to fall, hold me, hold me"

So I stopped trying to force her.

Instead, I took her onto a field, it's softer to fall on.

I put knee pads and elbow pads on her, even let her fall off a couple of times.

“Did that hurt?”

“No.”

She laughed.

Then I gave her a little push…

Off she went.

No fear.

No hesitation.

Then we went back onto the pavement…

And the fear came straight back.

Why?

Because in her mind, the consequence had changed.

On the grass, falling felt safe.

On the pavement, falling felt dangerous, it would hurt.

So I changed her focus.

“If you ride from here to there, we’ll go to Smyths and you can choose a toy.”

Her attention moved from what if I fall? to how do I get there?

Within minutes, she was riding.

Jen’s neighbour Kate, tried exactly the same thing with her little boy.

He’d refused to ride for months.

Even though he could use a balance bike easily and he’s only 3.

I told them how I got Sophia to do it.

First time on the grass today.

Off he went, first time.

This is exactly what happens in football.

The pass isn’t difficult.

The shot isn’t difficult.

The problem isn’t the action.

The problem is the story you’re telling yourself about what happens if it goes wrong.

“What will the manager think?”

“What will my teammates think?”

“What will the fans say?”

The fear, the fear of judgement and failure.

So you stay safe.

You stop expressing yourself.

You stop trusting your instincts.

And you call it a confidence problem.

It isn’t.

It’s a fear problem, a courage problem.

The best players aren’t fearless.

They feel fear but they do it anyway.

They’ve just stopped making mistakes mean something about who they are.

Because the moment you let the handbrake off.

You start expressing yourself.

You start being free from the shackles that you’ve put on yourself.

When I first spoke to probably six or seven years ago now, I always knew that he had the X Factor.

When I speak to players, you always know the ones who’ve got it from the ones who haven’t.

They’re resilient, self-aware, emotional, intelligent, always looking to get that extra edge and to learn more every day.

It took time to convince Luke that he needed to refine his mindset a little, but a few weeks in, after me not leaving him alone, The tables turned, and he wouldn’t leave me alone.

Always wanting to learn more and put it into practice.

Always looking for ways to improve, not just as a football player, but as a partner and a father too.

From starting off helping Sunderland’s Academy together, we went on and created the Inner Game Academy, helping younger players struggle with the things that he struggled with when he was younger.

Now me and Luke are taking this the Next Level, and he’s helping me coach the pros in our brand-new Elite X1 for pros.

Using his experiences and his knowledge to help pros thrive not just on but off the pitch.

Also, one of the best things about me after coaching him is he’s actually helped me too.

Because of his knowledge and his ability to learn and question, he’s challenged and pushed me to be a much better coach.

It’s been an absolute honour and a privilege to watch his journey.

Every time he’s successful, he always rings me and says thank you, but I always end up saying thank you back because he’s helped me as much as I’ve helped him.

We look forward to helping pros now on their journey.

If you wanna know more and you’re a pro, DM me and I’ll send you how you can work with us next season.

Limited spaces available, this will be something that football has never seen before.