Billions of fans across the globe once dreamed of being superstars like Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Neymar. The excitement of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup and soaking up the screaming cheers of a stadium packed with thousands drives many to pursue rigorous training regiments.
As any soccer player will tell you, soccer demands a whole host of physical abilities, physical strength, mental toughness, and an unlimited pool of stamina to draw from. Pros like Mbappe and Messi didn’t become superstars overnight. They practiced and honed their skills through countless hours of drills that translated to better performance on the pitch.
If you also have aspirations of dawning a World Cup appearance, you should focus on these fundamental skills that can bring your performance to the next level.
It’s always helpful to have a coach who has an intimate understanding of the game when undergoing a training program. Check out TOCA’s individual training programs with coaches who were pro athletes and players. Our centers across the country can help develop you into the next champion!
Agility is at the heart of every striker’s ability to score and every midfielder’s ability to make plays. This soccer skill helps players navigate the field, score goals, pass to team members, and prevent opposing players from gaining position and scoring. Agility means making quick turns, rush plays, feints, and dribble moves. Train your agility by focusing on plyometric hurdle rebounds, sprints, agility ladder drills, and tuck jumps.
Dribbling skills are essential for moving the soccer ball across and up the pitch. It’s also necessary for making plays and generating space. It requires excellent ball-handling skills to gain and keep control. You can practice dribbling skills through one-on-ones, gate dribbling, dribble attack, and knockout.
Every soccer coach will tell players, “there’s no ‘I’ in team.” There’s also no “I” in soccer, and that’s because it’s a team sport where passing is critical for success. Passing requires excellent communication, foot strength, and dexterity. And perfect passes use the inside of your foot for popping the ball over to a teammate. You can improve passing on your team by encouraging team bonding, using both feet to pass, engaging in frequent passing drills, and improving agility.
Trapping is one of the best skills players can have because it allows them to receive long, challenging, and wild passes to gain control. Pros use short kicks and toe taps, depending on direction, to absorb energy and prevent rebounds. It’s vital to create strong first-touch skills to wrangle complete control and use the chest, thigh, and feet for a comprehensive range of abilities.
Juggling isn’t necessarily an in-game skill. However, it’s a great way of training footwork, ball control, eye-hand coordination, agility, trapping, and dribbling skills. It’s perfect for youth soccer teams to learn the fundamentals of the game, build confidence in movements, and how to have a bit of fun! Coaches should encourage using thighs, feet, knees, chest, and head to develop the whole body’s range.
Speed is essential for dominating plays and moving past defenders. It’s also vital for wingers to make plays toward the middle of the pitch. In fact, speed is an essential soccer skill for any position on the team. You can improve your speed by running. A lot. Of course, you should also implement various drills with and without the ball to enhance confidence. These could be sprints, ball taps, agility ladders, or even friendly races.
Shooting is a must-have skill for any forward or offensive-minded midfielder. The easiest way to increase ability with shooting is by taking shots against a goalkeeper. You can also do other soccer drills like shooting while in a run, bouncing ball shots, and first touches. You score more goals and win more games when you improve your shooting skills.
While bending the ball may seem like something ripped from the movie Wanted, it’s a skill move that allows the ball to have a curved flight path. Bending is a convenient skill for free-kick scenarios or when you need to fake out the goalkeeper. Successful bending requires practicing the motion, committing to the follow-through, and ball position against the inside of the foot. Keep practicing until the move becomes natural, and whip it out during a game for a surprise!
Soccer is a hands-free game, but the head can help gain control, score, or pass. Using your head can help you get above your opponent and gain possession, an advantage you can’t discount. To avoid injury, you should attempt to strike the ball with your forehead before it hits you, and you can always practice headers by having a teammate do throw-ins while you redirect the ball with your head.
Turning allows players to protect the ball while wearing the opponent out. Turning involves using quick movements to create time and space, allowing for playmaking or creating separation from the opposing defense. Soccer training should focus on turning drills, agility ladders, speed drills, and turning-on-the-ball drills to improve turning skills.
A fake out or feint is a freestyle move where a player performs a motion that tricks the opposition into thinking you are moving one way while actually moving in another. These moves can be passes, shots, or forward and backward motions. Be sure to sell the play with body position and eye contact. To train fake outs, football players use off-feet while also turning, working on agility, and increasing speed to execute them in-game successfully.
A one touch, or one-timer, is where a player instantly passes or shoots the ball instead of taking possession. It’s an excellent way to push the play, take advantage of out-of-position defenders, or put a quick shot past the goalie. You can practice one-touches by doing stationary tap-and-pass drills, turning while receiving, or receiving with intent to redirect drills.
Goalkeeping is critical to success in-game, and many of the best keepers practiced for years to refine their skills. However, in youth soccer, teams rotate keepers, so everyone gets a chance to play, making it essential to gain goalie know-how from an early 5 or 6-year-old age. Playing goalie provides skills that improve reflexes, decision-making, and flexibility—vital skills for any position. Practice goalkeeping by having players take shots and perform drop kicks.
Tackling is an essential defensive skill to gain possession of the ball from the opponent. There are three basic tackling types: poke, block, and side tackle. Successfully performing these tackles separates the opposing player from the ball, allowing your team to gain control. To improve tackling, practice frequently, commit to the tackle, and focus on the ball, not the player, to avoid penalties or cards.
Soccer is a beautiful game, but it takes a lot of physical skill to play at an elite level. Anyone can gain the upper hand through various drills, tutorials, and training programs designed to take their abilities to the next stage. Whether you practice agility or go for something more advanced like bending, there are countless skills to work through!
Need some extra help achieving your goals? TOCA’s expert trainers and coaches can help you or your team elevate their skills through our proprietary technology, indoor facilities, and world-class programs. Find a center near you and join us for a free kick-off to see how much you can improve with an expert in your corner!
Billions of fans across the globe once dreamed of being superstars like Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Neymar. The excitement of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup and soaking up the screaming cheers of a stadium packed with thousands drives many to pursue rigorous training regiments.
As any soccer player will tell you, soccer demands a whole host of physical abilities, physical strength, mental toughness, and an unlimited pool of stamina to draw from. Pros like Mbappe and Messi didn’t become superstars overnight. They practiced and honed their skills through countless hours of drills that translated to better performance on the pitch.
If you also have aspirations of dawning a World Cup appearance, you should focus on these fundamental skills that can bring your performance to the next level.
It’s always helpful to have a coach who has an intimate understanding of the game when undergoing a training program. Check out TOCA’s individual training programs with coaches who were pro athletes and players. Our centers across the country can help develop you into the next champion!
Agility is at the heart of every striker’s ability to score and every midfielder’s ability to make plays. This soccer skill helps players navigate the field, score goals, pass to team members, and prevent opposing players from gaining position and scoring. Agility means making quick turns, rush plays, feints, and dribble moves. Train your agility by focusing on plyometric hurdle rebounds, sprints, agility ladder drills, and tuck jumps.
Dribbling skills are essential for moving the soccer ball across and up the pitch. It’s also necessary for making plays and generating space. It requires excellent ball-handling skills to gain and keep control. You can practice dribbling skills through one-on-ones, gate dribbling, dribble attack, and knockout.
Every soccer coach will tell players, “there’s no ‘I’ in team.” There’s also no “I” in soccer, and that’s because it’s a team sport where passing is critical for success. Passing requires excellent communication, foot strength, and dexterity. And perfect passes use the inside of your foot for popping the ball over to a teammate. You can improve passing on your team by encouraging team bonding, using both feet to pass, engaging in frequent passing drills, and improving agility.
Trapping is one of the best skills players can have because it allows them to receive long, challenging, and wild passes to gain control. Pros use short kicks and toe taps, depending on direction, to absorb energy and prevent rebounds. It’s vital to create strong first-touch skills to wrangle complete control and use the chest, thigh, and feet for a comprehensive range of abilities.
Juggling isn’t necessarily an in-game skill. However, it’s a great way of training footwork, ball control, eye-hand coordination, agility, trapping, and dribbling skills. It’s perfect for youth soccer teams to learn the fundamentals of the game, build confidence in movements, and how to have a bit of fun! Coaches should encourage using thighs, feet, knees, chest, and head to develop the whole body’s range.
Speed is essential for dominating plays and moving past defenders. It’s also vital for wingers to make plays toward the middle of the pitch. In fact, speed is an essential soccer skill for any position on the team. You can improve your speed by running. A lot. Of course, you should also implement various drills with and without the ball to enhance confidence. These could be sprints, ball taps, agility ladders, or even friendly races.
Shooting is a must-have skill for any forward or offensive-minded midfielder. The easiest way to increase ability with shooting is by taking shots against a goalkeeper. You can also do other soccer drills like shooting while in a run, bouncing ball shots, and first touches. You score more goals and win more games when you improve your shooting skills.
While bending the ball may seem like something ripped from the movie Wanted, it’s a skill move that allows the ball to have a curved flight path. Bending is a convenient skill for free-kick scenarios or when you need to fake out the goalkeeper. Successful bending requires practicing the motion, committing to the follow-through, and ball position against the inside of the foot. Keep practicing until the move becomes natural, and whip it out during a game for a surprise!
Soccer is a hands-free game, but the head can help gain control, score, or pass. Using your head can help you get above your opponent and gain possession, an advantage you can’t discount. To avoid injury, you should attempt to strike the ball with your forehead before it hits you, and you can always practice headers by having a teammate do throw-ins while you redirect the ball with your head.
Turning allows players to protect the ball while wearing the opponent out. Turning involves using quick movements to create time and space, allowing for playmaking or creating separation from the opposing defense. Soccer training should focus on turning drills, agility ladders, speed drills, and turning-on-the-ball drills to improve turning skills.
A fake out or feint is a freestyle move where a player performs a motion that tricks the opposition into thinking you are moving one way while actually moving in another. These moves can be passes, shots, or forward and backward motions. Be sure to sell the play with body position and eye contact. To train fake outs, football players use off-feet while also turning, working on agility, and increasing speed to execute them in-game successfully.
A one touch, or one-timer, is where a player instantly passes or shoots the ball instead of taking possession. It’s an excellent way to push the play, take advantage of out-of-position defenders, or put a quick shot past the goalie. You can practice one-touches by doing stationary tap-and-pass drills, turning while receiving, or receiving with intent to redirect drills.
Goalkeeping is critical to success in-game, and many of the best keepers practiced for years to refine their skills. However, in youth soccer, teams rotate keepers, so everyone gets a chance to play, making it essential to gain goalie know-how from an early 5 or 6-year-old age. Playing goalie provides skills that improve reflexes, decision-making, and flexibility—vital skills for any position. Practice goalkeeping by having players take shots and perform drop kicks.
Tackling is an essential defensive skill to gain possession of the ball from the opponent. There are three basic tackling types: poke, block, and side tackle. Successfully performing these tackles separates the opposing player from the ball, allowing your team to gain control. To improve tackling, practice frequently, commit to the tackle, and focus on the ball, not the player, to avoid penalties or cards.
Soccer is a beautiful game, but it takes a lot of physical skill to play at an elite level. Anyone can gain the upper hand through various drills, tutorials, and training programs designed to take their abilities to the next stage. Whether you practice agility or go for something more advanced like bending, there are countless skills to work through!
Need some extra help achieving your goals? TOCA’s expert trainers and coaches can help you or your team elevate their skills through our proprietary technology, indoor facilities, and world-class programs. Find a center near you and join us for a free kick-off to see how much you can improve with an expert in your corner!
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