Youth soccer players love to find out what the pros do. This is usually in the hopes to improve upon their own game. However, did you know that pros train on their own mainly to keep their fitness 🏃♀️in check during the off-season?
The tags and posts you see on social media calling out “train like a pro” is not what pros actually do. As a youth soccer player, you should be focusing on your first touch, ball control, ⚽and passing skills - not just fitness.
This week, Blayze coach Sarah Woldmoe will give you insights into what pro players do to improve their individual skills.
One of the first things pro players do is to seek and obtain quality feedback on their individual performance from their coaching staff.📃 Then, once pro players know their feedback, they can form a plan to improve the areas that need improvement or continue to sharpen areas of strength.
How can you apply this to yourself?🤷♀️
You may not have a coaching staff, but you do have at least one coach and possibly a private trainer. You need to get this feedback so that you know how you are performing in relation to your coach’s expectations.
When you have this feedback, you can begin creating your plan of improvement. A great tool to do this is using a sort of Athletic Development Planner.
You can review the different types of development opportunities that you can do on or off the field to help you become a stronger player. Identify what you can do during team training sessions, individually like strength training 💪and self-care, as well as personalized drills to focus on what your coach mentioned needs improvement.
Make a weekly calendar📆 to specify which days of the week you can focus on each type of development opportunity. If you train with your team two days a week, then that leaves two days during the week to work on individual ball skills or some sort of physical conditioning or soccer IQ.🧠
Create goals to help motivate you and keep you focused. You cannot just set a goal and then randomly search all week for a way to accomplish it. With a schedule, you can hold yourself accountable for the work you put in to achieve your goal. The schedule lets you track what you did, how much time you spent on the development, and if it helped you reach that goal.🥅
Be careful not to over-train! If you feel like you have too many days of physical activity, ask your coach if they think you have overscheduled yourself.
Another great feedback tool is your Blayze private coach. Blayze coaches create personalized training plans for players to help them improve their individual skills as well as game knowledge.
Do you have a question that you want answered? Reply to this email with your question and you might see it answered in our next newsletter!
Article of the week: Why You Should Be Writing Down Goals
Learn how writing down goals help you stay on track with your big-picture goals.
Video of the Week: How to Improve Your First Touch
To improve your first touch, practice watching the ball during training. Notice how it moves through the air. Use this Blayze coaching video to help assist you in your first touch.
