Arguably the most important parts of a soccer match, or really any game for that matter, are the beginning and the end.

And psychologically, those are often the hardest moments to avoid a letdown.

This weekend I was watching my favorite NWSL team. They played a pretty solid match and had things tied 1-1 in the 91st minute. Then it happened. A letdown. They switched off for just a moment, and the other team scored. With only a couple minutes left in stoppage time, that was it. The game was effectively over.

As a fan and a player, those losses are devastating because you feel like you lost it in the final moments. Wins like that feel incredible when you are on the other side of it.

It’s hard to stay focused and disciplined at the start or end of something.

I’ve been trying to eat better and stop eating late at night. And guess what? When do I usually have a breakdown? Stoppage time. Late at night when I’m tired, my discipline slips, and I convince myself I need a snack. My willpower just isn’t as strong in those moments. And afterward it feels exactly like giving up that late goal. A huge letdown.

The same is true at the beginning of the day. I can start my morning with a good choice and build momentum from there, or I can overindulge early and spend the rest of the day trying to recover from it.

As a coach, whether in sports or any other arena, part of our job is helping people build strategies to start and finish strong.

When I have a one-on-one coaching client, it’s incredibly important that we begin with clarity around what we are actually trying to work through together. If we don’t establish that, it’s like conceding an early goal. You spend the rest of the session chasing something that was never really aligned with your intended plan.

The same is true in sports. If a team gives up an early goal, they often have to abandon parts of their game plan and start chasing the match using tactics and decisions they never really wanted to rely on in the first place.

And the same is true for how we finish things.

If a client leaves a session unclear about what they learned, what their next steps are, or how they want to move forward, then in many ways the session was lost. Just like in sports, the sting of conceding late tends to linger a lot longer and is much harder to recover from emotionally.

So as you think about starting or finishing anything, be intentional about preparing yourself psychologically for the moments where it is easiest to lose focus. Because those are often the moments that matter most.

A few things that can help:

Create intentional opening routines.

Whether it’s sports, work, coaching, or life, routines help settle us in. They reduce anxiety and help us focus. Sometimes it’s as simple as a consistent warm-up, a clear first step, or taking a minute to reset before jumping in. The goal is to avoid mentally drifting into important moments.

Train for the moments when fatigue sets in.

A lot of late-game mistakes happen because people are mentally and emotionally exhausted. Good teams and good leaders prepare for that. They build habits they can rely on when energy and focus start to fade. They train for it repeatedly.

And maybe most importantly, learn how to reset.

Momentum shifts happen. Mistakes happen. Goals get conceded. Bad choices get made. The people and teams that handle those moments best are usually the ones that can reset the fastest instead of spiraling after something goes wrong. They can regulate their emotions in the moment.

Take a breath. Refocus. Communicate. Get back to the next thing in front of you.

Because sometimes the difference between winning and losing, growing and shrinking, or staying committed and giving up, comes down to how you handle the first few moments and the final few ones.

Starting strong builds belief. Finishing strong builds character.

Steve

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