“Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” – William Faulkner
It’s a statement that I’ve heard many times from my students over the years. So I thought it would be worth a discussion on my blog. The first thing I would say is football is the world’s biggest sport and competition to play at high levels is immense. Now regardless of age or ability, becoming a better footballer is what all footballers want. Even Lionel Messi seeks to improve his ridiculous standards year after year. Here are six areas that I have made up that I think can elevate anyone into becoming a better player.
Control
This is the key to the game. Whether it be bringing down 40 yard balls or dribbling with both feet through tight areas, this area can always be improved. This is the area I believe the top players excel at. You need to master the ball and control it proficiently with all areas of the body and both feet. I believe futsal is a great game to develop control of the ball and control in football movements. It’s not difficult to make up your own activities to develop your control… even a carton of milk can be used!
Fitness
I think this is important at all levels of football nowadays, football is fast and explosive. Having good fitness early on in your career will stand you in good stead for your future, with both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels needing to be great if you want to climb to the top. Through experience I have seen that you really need to be specific to the game.
Set Goals
Whilst achieving as a team is paramount, I believe in setting individual goals. Whether it be improving your weak foot or learning to throw the ball into the box. Setting lots of achievable goals I feel is vital for development.
Keep Healthy
I see this as much more than eating healthy and getting enough rest and fluids. To keep healthy we need to have grit and the right mindset. Grit is the drive that keeps you on a difficult task over a sustained period of time. We all need the ability to bounce back from adversity and keep persistent when things get tough. Like most valuable skills, grit and the developing the right mindset take practice. However, the work is well worth your effort because fostering these traits will have a positive impact on not just football but every aspect of your life.
Learn From The Best
Kids are great imitators and we all should have great players we can model our game off. Practice the skills of Neymar and watch the movement of Toni Kroos. Find out how much they train, how they grew up and what their advice for young players is.
Play, Play, Play
This is what I feel is the most important. It sounds straightforward, but the number one way to help players grow is playing. The more minutes you spend with the ball and on the pitch the more you’ll be able to grow.
Be your best!
-Daniel Micevski