35 Tips to Take your Game to the Next Level
Follow these 35 tips from Stuart Flaherty to take your game to the next level.
Practice. The key to improvement in every skill is to invest time and repetition.
Be energetic. Whether practicing alone or with your team, invest full energy into what you are doing. The key to success on game day is performing skills faster than the opposition.
Keep eye on the ball. Whether trapping, passing or heading, watch the ball till the point of contact.
Be aware of surroundings. With or without the ball, you must always be aware of the space and pressure around you.
Take your first touch away from pressure. Take note of defensive pressure before ball arrives and open up away from it on your first touch.
Have an idea of your intention before you receive the ball, be a step ahead.
Show patience and discipline when defending. Only tackle when you think ball will be won or when attacker is close to beating you.
Use the 3 forms of communication to receive passes, Talk, Show, Eye contact. T, S, E.
Call loud and early for a pass from teammate. In order to get a 1 time pass you will need to call before he gets ball.
Be confident when shooting. It is not how many you miss that count, but how many you score.
If a teammate shoots, follow in for the rebound of a teammate.
When you have the ball in wide positions put a cross into the penalty boxes. Aim crosses outside the 6 yard box but inside the penalty spot. This allows attackers to head on goal without the goalkeeper collecting the ball easily.
Be decisive when dribbling the ball. If you wish to beat a man off the dribble choose a move and execute it. Do not second guess yourself.
When shooting on goal, aim for the corners to increase the difficulty for a goalkeeper attempting to save.
When you receive a ball from one sideline, switch play to the opposite side away from defensive pressure.
Build your stamina. To keep your performance level up for the entire game, you must perform physical conditioning work on top of practice.
Stretch thoroughly before and after every game and practice. Increased flexibility helps ease of movement, and reduces risk of muscle injury.
Be a good teammate. Communicate in a positive manner with teammates, encourage and help your team through adversity.
Trust the coach. Performing the role asked of you will increase your chances of success.
Focus on team performance. Do not chase individual glory, focus on the team playing well and contributing to wins.
When your team loses possession, recover quickly on defense and mark the nearest plarer or pressure the ball.
Eat a healthy diet. Eating the right foods, low in fat and high in carbohydrate will have a positive influence on your fitness and subsequent performance.
After passing the ball accelerate to top speed in first 3 steps to lose defender.
Look to move into open space and communicate loudly and clearly for the ball.
If the field seems crowded, switch positions with a teammate. As he leaves his area and drags away the defender, accelerate into the open space.
When covering a player on defense, stay goal side and within arm’s length of a player. Do not stand 2-3 yards away and assume you are covering a player, you may never catch up.
Pace yourself through a game. It is impossible to sprint full speed for the duration of a game. If you make a forward run and need to recover, move the ball in and out of your feet quickly on the next few plays to recuperate. NEVER take rests when your team is defending.
Do not make excuses, accept failure and learn from it.
Accept responsibility, blaming teammates will only alienate you and lead to failure in the end.
Study the game. Many website’s books and DVD’s exist focusing on certain skills or positions. Commit time daily to learning about the game.
Watch the game on TV. Players who watch the game on a regular basis even as fans develop an understanding of positional play and how professional’s play the game.
Watch the game live. Attend a local professional, college or even high school game in your area. TV cameras follow the ball but attending live you can watch the position you play, and how they play with the ball, and when the ball is in other areas of the field.
Be careful of offside. If you are running against the defensive line, you may need to curve your run and run along the line before releasing up field upon the pass. This is better than stopping the run and starting again.
Take note of your opposing player and the preferred foot they use. If you are up against a player who is right footed, pressure them on that side and try to force them on to their weaker foot.
Respect the referee. Players who get into ongoing dialogue with a referee are simply wasting their time. Not only that, but you are not concentrating on the game and your job if you are debating other issues.
