Soccer Skills Aren’t Enough
As a player starts to enter into U-14, I’ve noticed that soccer becomes more than just pure skill. Tenacity, strength, balance, and other factors start playing a bigger role.
Soccer skills are certainly important but players need more to compete at the highest level.
It’s not enough to rely on your dribbling skills to skate past a defender.
It’s not enough to make that quick turn.
It’s not enough to poke your foot out to steal the ball.
As the competition gets bigger, faster, and smarter…you need to do the same. Or, you’ll slowly get left behind.
As a club player, it is advantageous to work to get faster, quicker, stronger, and more mentally sharp. Add this to your basket of skills and your development will skyrocket.
The kids who get left behind are the ones who rely solely on their soccer skills. It’s simply not enough.
You need to work on your body. It is the engine of your game. The hardest part about this is that you won’t see ANY results in the next day, week, or even a month. It takes time. But, at some point, you will see significant gains.
You should also work on your game IQ. It is the remote to your game. Sometimes you don’t need to be the strongest or fastest. You’ll be more than fine if you know when to get rid of the ball, recognize where you need to be, and anticipate your opponents.
Become the best version of you. Your life will thank you for it!
