Q: The skills you teach seem too difficult and impractical in terms of game use and career advancement. I know what you teach is different from soccer tricks but are the skills really advantageous?
A: First of all, skills {as defined by Encarta Dictionaries} is ‘the ability to do something well, usually gained through training or experience.’
Many athletes need to work on controlling the ball with the bottom of the foot because this skill is important for game play. Being fast and good on the field is not enough. However, a balance is required for quality play and ball control, which allows the athlete to set the game tempo and direction. Many times we will have the athletes dribble around the goal as a demonstration of this; as they come back we often notice that the players use almost all inside of the foot so with what we know where to begin.
We have 14 yr olds who play on the National Team who do not know these skills when they come to us. Also we tell players “you don’t have to do this in a game or know it to be a good soccer player.” We have to be aggressive, talk, work hard, pass and receive the ball also.
You should see a difference after 3-6 hours of training. The more an athlete works at home the better. We do not expect them to do this in a game for 4-10 months but they will be more composed on the ball, evidenced within the first 3 weeks, which will create better game play.