u/Last_Commission6982

I had a long conversation with one of our clients recently about his son struggling to be vocal on the pitch. For context, we run a soccer consultancy focused on developing the next generation of professional and college level talent. We work with athletes at all stages and adapt our approach to each individual, their goals, and how far they want to go with the sport. More than anything else, we always focus on fostering confidence and love for the sport in the athletes while developing their game.

Now, concerning the conversation, the topic came up as we were discussing future opportunities. The player plays for LAFC and is looking to find a professional academy in Europe. This is something the whole family is on board for as they have friends with kids who play in European academies and have European citizenship themselves. They also just love Europe in general and are looking to leave the US, which is a great reason by itself. In regard to the player, he is a CDM / CB who is technically above and beyond his peers. He is strong defensively, and loves to dribble forward and create opportunities out of the back. He leads by example technically, but is lacking one important thing (that all high level athletes need)... communication.

We're currently working together to find opportunities in Europe while developing his game, but this has become our main focus. The goal here is to get the athlete comfortable enough in less-stressful environments (Private sessions, sessions with friends, team practices, etc.) so that he is able to express himself in high-stress environments. Even on a smaller setting, we're trying to foster an approach in partner / group training to first lead with direction. This is hard to explain over text, but essentially when he has the ball and is looking to play a 1-2 with one of his teammates, we're having him start to point towards the direction of where he wants the ball back with small vocal cues ("Here", "Into Space", "To Feet", etc.). The goal here is to not just get him comfortable through small vocal cues, but also develop that understanding of how to use those around him to work the space and create opportunities.

As he develops this confidence in communication, our goal is to slowly get him to use these small vocal cues in his games, which will then translate to a more natural approach to communication. There's obviously a lot more context behind this and how we're approaching this, but this is one missing part of an otherwise complete player. He's a top player for his age group and has serious potential. Our goal is to develop strong communication alongside his excellent technical ability. As mentioned in the beginning, it really is all about fostering love and confidence and we look to develop that in all of our athletes.

When it comes to player development, I believe some of the most important things you can do is to develop fun and creativity from the beginning, create structure and systems in their 10's / teens, and then watch how these 2 come together in their college / pro years. When a player is able to nurture their creative side while having a strong understanding of the tactical side, I believe this is where we see the standout players.

I've seen kids who are around 5-8 years old, kids who are just getting into soccer, being told to follow a certain system which comes with negative reinforcement whenever they break away from this. This is a period where the athlete needs to develop the love for the game that will allow them to find their own intrinsic motivation to learn the fundamentals (like systems, styles of play, how to play a certain position in a certain formation, etc.).

The most important thing for any athlete is always the love for the game. There are so many uncontrollables when it comes to this sport, but the love for the game is something that always has to be there for the athlete to reach their potential. This is why I just think it's absolutely imperative to prioritize this from a young age over anything else. It is their love for the game that will get them through all the boundaries and obstacles that come with the pursuit of a soccer dream. However, it is their understanding of their role, tactics, and general structure that will get them to reach their potential which is why it is so important to develop both.

The offseason can, in my opinion, be one of the most important times of the year for athletes. You may have just had a great year... this is the time to compound on your results and build momentum into the next season. You may have had a rough year... this is the time to work on your weaknesses, your confidence, and foster an environment for a huge comeback season.

The offseason is also a great opportunity for athletes to finally work on their own schedules and develop parts of their game where they maybe just didn't have the time to spend on during season. What I want to get into with this post is the difference between elite and average players in their approach to offseason.

Right away, I think the most obvious point to start with is who actually trains during offseason. Average players will often view this time as a break from soccer while elite players see this as an opportunity to get a leg up on their competition (The best way to relate this to the real world are college students who take the summer off versus college students who get internships). Both sets of players take a break (your body needs a break and it shouldn't be encouraged to train at a high level all summer / offseason without one), but the elite player understands that this is a period of deliberate rest which must be followed by a real plan of action to improve. What I noticed the most from my time in football was that the elite players would come back almost completely different players. Their fitness would already be excellent, their weaknesses from last season would be noticeably better, their general ability would be higher than those around them. These players came into preseason looking like they were in the middle of the most competitive period of the season. One player who is a great example of this is Ronaldo... he is a player who takes every offseason as seriously as the season itself which is why he is still playing and still competing at a high level.

Another thing that separates elite players from average players in offseason is their recovery practices. Elite players understand that they need to solidify their offseason gains through active recovery (great sleep, stretching, eating healthy, etc.) while average players will still train, but will go home after training and eat junk food, or get terrible sleep, or just sit down without doing any movement or stretching. You are not just working on your athletic weaknesses, but also strengthening habits which will help you perform at your highest level next season. Recovery is almost just as important as the training itself. Elite players are on top of this while average players tend to slip up here.

Lastly, elite players find other ways to improve in the offseason outside of the field. This can come through things like intentional game analysis (Ex: following a certain players full 90 minute game and analyzing what they're doing well / what they're struggling with, then finding ways to adapt this information to you as a player and your own development - I was a 10, so I used to watch players like Bruno Fernandes and Prime Dele Alli (so unfortunate what's happened to his career) and do this exact format). This can also come from other things like analyzing your own gameplay from last season, studying your opponents for next season, or even watching tactical breakdowns of how to play in certain formations / against certain formations to give you more of a coaching perspective on the game. There's also of course the importance of offseason gym work, and having a structured plan for this is essential.

The players who arrive at pre-season faster, stronger, technically sharper, and mentally refreshed don't get there by accident. They usually just make a decision in the first week of the off-season that most of their peers did not make, and they stick with it. Consistency is everything for anything you do.

With offseason coming up, I'm curious what your plans are. If you're a coach or an athlete, we'd love to hear from you and get your take on this.

I work with a lot of young athletes and one of the strongest pillars we work on is developing confidence. Anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in sports knows how important confidence is. With it, you can reach your greatest potential, but without it, you become an unrecognizable version of yourself. When it comes to young athletes, it is so important that we develop this early on and work through those times where confidence is lacking. I want to talk about a few things I do to help my athletes, so that confidence is something they can foster in every aspect of their life.

The first thing we do (whether it's in sessions or just watching film) is consistently point out moments where the athlete has excelled or done something well. This can be even the smallest things to show them that they are capable and can do great things on the field. If an athlete also is struggling to learn something or is having a rough session, or a rough game, we try to remind them of instances / games where they've excelled. We want the athletes to learn the importance of positive reinforcement (regardless of how they are performing). When a young athlete is in an environment where they feel confident enough to make mistakes, that's how you know you're developing an athlete who understands that confidence doesn't come from avoiding mistakes, but from pushing through them.

The second thing we do is realistic goal-setting. Nothing helps with confidence more than building momentum through the accomplishment of even the most simple goals. This can be something as small as connecting a certain amount of passes in your next game, or putting in a certain amount of crosses, or taking on a player a certain amount of times. This is a smaller exercise to just get athletes to understand the importance of goal setting. We don't encourage this approach for their whole career, but just in moments where they're trying to learn a certain concept, or they are just struggling and need to regain confidence. One form of this which is great is setting weekly goals for sessions in the gym, or extra sessions on the field (things that are entirely in their control). We want to build confidence around the athletes showing up for themselves and learning that they are in control of the one thing that matters most... showing up.

The third thing we do is to try and recommend environments with other trainers or coaches we know and trust, especially in situations where the athlete really needs a change of team. We've had our fair share of players who are on teams which destroy their confidence. We almost always recommend searching for a new team, especially when it has to do with issues with the coach. It's not just about providing an environment ourselves where we can foster and develop the athletes confidence, but also ensure they aren't in other environments which destroy their confidence. Of course, we can't control this stuff, so these are always just healthy recommendations we try to make in situations where the athlete is clearly in an environment where they are struggling.

If you're coming across this post, feel free to share your own opinions. The point of this post is to share solutions with parents or athletes who may need help with developing their confidence.

No one wants to be injured, but after you get through them, you always tend to revisit those times you were out with a positive outlook. I think a part of this is the athlete mentality, which fosters genuine positivity regardless of the circumstances you're in (Yes, you might be down on yourself for a few days, but any athlete knows that the love for the game always comes back). I want to share some of my own positives which I noticed when I came back from injuries, and even years later down the line.

First off, I want to get into how it can positively change the mental side of things. For me personally, I was always a great player and was often the best player on the teams I played on growing up. This led to me having an ego from a young age which made me into someone who couldn't handle feedback, someone who refused to listen to his peers, and someone who just thought he was this gift from God. When I tore my meniscus at 15, I was out for 9 months... and that was one of the most humbling experiences I had been through. In that time I was out, I was forced to reflect on who I was outside of soccer and it led me to many realizations about the type of person I was and who I was becoming. By the time I came back, I had spent all this time reflecting, and I was now a much more supportive player, a much stronger listener, and someone who always took advice from his coaches and his peers.

The second big thing I noticed was that I was much tactically adept. In the time I was out, I had to find other ways to improve. This led me to things like VR training, watching specific players throughout the games (instead of just watching the game from the normal spectator POV), watching teams with specific formations and breakdowns on how to play effectively in these setups, listening to what scouts and top coaches look for in certain players, etc.. I essentially had to find ways to still develop while I was out, and it led me to these things. By the time I was back, I still had to catch up and get back into the swing of things technically, but tactically I was far ahead of the player I was before my injury (I ended up taking this same approach when I had another big knee injury 5 years later). I understood my position better, I understood what specific coaches wanted out of me (and most importantly how to actually apply this on the pitch), and I understood how those around me played the game at the highest level.

The third big thing I noticed (and I think this one is tough for younger players) is that I started to develop an identity that wasn't just built around my sport. As you get older, this is essential in your development as a person. You are more than just your sport, and injuries / time off from the sport remind you of this. By the time I would come back from these injuries, I found I was much more calm and also just appreciated the game more. I understood how fragile it all was, so I really appreciated every minute I played (good and bad). I also found that I started to look forward to other things (which I think every player needs).

Most athletes (especially nowadays with how much we play) have gone through long periods away from their sport. If you're one of these athletes and you're coming across this post, feel free to share your views on what you learned and how your time away from the sport helped you develop as not just an athlete, but also a person.

When I moved to the UK, one of my first coaches out there was a former pro who played for the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Coventry City, etc.. Under this coach, I learned a ton, especially when it came to attacking as he made his career as a forward, but there was one thing he constantly taught us that has always stuck with me...

He would always come back to this one point... the best players aren't better than you in the sense where they can hit a top bins shot, or an exceptional long ball, or make a perfect slide tackle, and you can't. Any quality player can do these things, but the difference is in consistency. His point was that the best players, the ones who make it to the highest level, have a level of consistency that those under them just don't.

An example of this is here... you give three CMs a task. One of these players is at the semi-pro level, one of these players is at the professional level, and one of them is at the highest level (first or second division in Europe's top leagues). You have all 3 of these CMs do one play, and you give them 10 reps. For this example, let's say it's a perfect cross field ball to a winger making a run in behind. The semi-pro player will hit this pass perfectly 2-3 times, the lower professional will hit this pass perfectly maybe 5-6 times, but the one at the highest level, he will hit this pass perfectly 8-10 times and will likely be at a 9/10 range. Each of these players can hit this ball perfectly if given enough opportunities, but the best players are the ones who can consistently do these plays.

You aren't different to a pro in the sense where they can do things you just can't do, they are different to you in the sense where they can do things at a far higher, consistent rate. This is why I encourage all of my athletes to focus on consistency over flair. Do things that build this consistency and you will see far greater gains, and potentially even end up accomplishing those high-level professional dreams.

I wanted to write a post centered around how to develop off the field (outside of the usual weight training, cardio, etc.). I purely mean non-physical improvement, so the focus here is on tactical and mental improvement. There are a few things I'll get into and give some of my own personal examples to justify where I'm coming from.

The first is focused on developing your tactical understanding of a few things, and you can do this through watching specific games with a focus on specific players. For example, if you're a CB, watch how Saliba plays. Analyze things like his movement, his presence on the ball, and how he commands the backline. If you're a CM, watch Valverde. Analyze how he drives forward, analyze his defensive attributes (when he steps in, when he steps up, when he forces the attacker a certain way, etc.), and analyze his movement off the ball. If you're a ST, look at how Haaland plays. Analyze how he holds up the ball, how he makes runs in behind, the movement he makes when he's in the box, etc. The point of this is to find the best players in your positions and watch their games and solely focus on them and the way they play the game. What happens usually is we follow the ball, but don't with this. Follow the specific player for the full 90 minutes, you will learn a ton. The next part of this is to watch specific teams that play the same formation as you, and follow similar tactics. The goal here is to understand what your presence on the field looks like at the highest level. You will gain a much better understanding of your role on the pitch and also just how the team should play at the highest level with your formation and tactics.

The second is focused on something very niche that I got into when I was injured... VR training. It sounds a bit crazy, but once you understand that your brain can't tell the difference between what it sees in VR and on the real pitch, you start to understand why this can be so beneficial. For me personally, I went through an 18 month period where I was battling a chronic knee injury and I had to find ways to improve unconventionally. This led me to VR training, and as a midfielder it was great for me because it trained things like checking my shoulder before receiving the ball, seeing the pitch from different perspectives, and of course feeling the pressure again of defenders pressing me when I was on the ball. Something that was so great about this training as well was that I could alter the speed of play and I was constantly measured on things like field awareness, decision making, speed of play, etc... it just helped a ton because it felt like I was in a game again. I used it as extra practice when I finally got back onto the pitch and the improvements I made before and after using it were night and day. I definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for extra ways to improve, especially if you're injured.

The third is not necessarily soccer related, but it's just getting in tune with your mind and your body through things like meditation, breathwork, and visualization. A lot of people are against this type of stuff, but it really does wonders for your clarity on the field long term and also just gives you guidance on where you want to be and who you want to be on the field. I think Lewandowski is a perfect example of this. I believe he gave an interview years ago where he talked about how he visualizes himself in the game before every game, and of course focuses on specific movements like scoring, creating chances, etc... I don't want to go too into this, but if you've tried this before, you'll understand.

These are 3 things I think could really help you if you're trying to develop the more tactical and mental side of your game. If you're coming across this post and you have something to add or ideas you want to share, please feel free to drop them below.

I was having a conversation with a parent today and our conversation turned into communication problems they're having with their kid's club coach. They've had the coach for a while and brought up an issue concerning how he communicates with the players and the parents... and the point she brought up was that he never communicates with them.

She was essentially saying that he doesn't say a word to the players individually (She brought up points like he never asked any of the players what positions they like to play in, he never communicated to the players individually on what they need to work on, and he hadn't given them any feedback), and doesn't communicate with the parents. Apparently, she has only ever had a few surface level conversations with him and they've been with the club for around 18 months from my knowledge.

Also, just for some context, he coaches a few ECNL teams and is the head coach at a community college.

I know some people can be quiet, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it just made me think about how team coaches effectively manage and communicate with their players. There isn't a one size fits all, but at a youth level, I think communication is so important as you're not just managing the players, but also the parents (who let's be honest are not always easy to manage. We also got into a conversation about how she never wants her kid to play defense again after the coach put her there for a game. Nothing wrong with defense, but I'm just trying to make a point.).

I also want to make one point clear... I DO NOT know the full truth behind the story I was told as I don't know the coach. My main point with this post is to open up a discussion around effective and healthy communication for high level youth athletes, and what that looks like.

I'm just curious as there are so many different communication styles and personalities, even in the world of coaching. If you're a coach, I'd love to hear your opinions on this and how you communicate with your players (and parents).

I wanted to highlight something that I think is very important in any sport... and that is finding just one teammate who loves the game just as much as you do and shares the same huge dreams you have.

It all started for me in my first ever game. I started at the AYSO level and in my first season, I played with someone who also happened to live just a few houses down the street from me. This teammate who I was lucky enough to stumble upon when I was just 5 years old became the teammate I played thousands of pickup games with, played tens of thousands of hours with, and made so many soccer memories with. It was through this relationship that I was able to develop my love for the game, and also improve technically in areas where I just couldn't in any sort of team training or even private training. We also most importantly shared big dreams of becoming pros and based our entire childhoods and early lives around soccer.

If I never shared the pitch with him during my first ever game, I likely would've never developed the same love for the game that took me to England, a place where I met so many friends who I still stay in touch with today, a place where I learned so much on and off the field, a place where I was able to play and grow to my fullest potential as not just an athlete, but also a young man. Without this player, I would've missed out on so many memories, and I just think it's important for young athletes to find that teammate. They will likely take you much further than you could've ever gone on your own.

I don't really like sharing names too much on here, but this player, who I'm still great friends with, is Zayne. We haven't shared the pitch in a very long time now, but I have so much gratitude for all the time we spent together on and off the pitch. This is more of a brief personal story, but I just want to try and get across how important this point is. Just one teammate can have such a large and positive impact on not just your career, but also your life.