Part 1 of "The Six Steps To Soccer Success"
Ball Mastery – You Can DO It….
With A Little Practice
Welcome to lesson one of our Six Steps To Success Program. Today we focus on the key foundational skill of Ball Mastery. Nothing good in soccer happens without the ball so developing the touch and coordination to keep it and to shoot, pass or dribble effectively is a critical skill for every soccer player.
Develop Good Habits
Ball Mastery comes from work with the ball. Work to the point where it feels comfortable, like second nature, instinctive.
All great players are Ball Masters and the best like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Zidane, Robinho and Ronaldo are instinctive. They don’t think about Ball Mastery …they do it by second nature, by habit. Habits are routines we perform with our subconscious mind. The subconscious mind takes over whenever functions become so routine that we no longer have to think about them.Many actions we do each day are habits…opening doors, reading the morning newspaper, brushing our teeth…we don’t think about them we do them. They became habits because we do them so often. This constant repetition is what we need to develop good Ball Mastery skills.
We are going to show you some Ball Mastery drills we find beneficial. Watch the video and read our pointers on how to perform them best. Talk to your team about the benefits of good habits. Relate to them how the great players develop their instinctive play by practicing good habits. How by adding their own variations and setting goals and keeping their own scorecards it can be inspiring and fun and make a huge difference in their game.
So lets get into it and watch the first video.
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Watch the video closely to see the correct form.
The text below should help you with the first two drills we cover in the video. The last four drills are very basic…but very important…these are the drills players can be practicing at home… in their yard, in their room…in the basement… just get them playing with the ball.
Video Drill 6
Set up
A 12- by 12- yard area.
Four groups of up to four players positioned as shown.
The first player in each group has a ball.
Action
The players with a ball dribble to the center of the square cutting the ball tightly across their bodies with the inside and outside of the same foot.
At the center they cut the ball to their right, pass to the first player in the next group and sprint to join the end of that group.
Option: The receiver can toe tap the ball between his feet until the coach signals the next players to start.
Tips
Make sure players cut the ball across their bodies - not too far in front.
Have them make as many quick, tight cuts as possible without losing control.
Tell them to keep their head up as much as possible.
Suggest that players use their “weak” foot as well.
This format can be used for any of the ball mastery exercises.
Video Drill 7
Setup
Two adjacent 10- by 20- yards lanes.
Two groups of up to six players at opposite end of the adjacent lanes.
The first player in each group has a ball.
Action
Players tap the ball forward with the outside of the foot as often as they can to the midpoint of their lane where they pass to the first player in the opposite group and sprint to join end of that group.
The receiving players repeat the action in the opposite direction.
Tips
Remind players to practice with both feet and to look up before they pass. Well we know if you put these Ball Mastery skills to work you and your team.
The Pyramid Of Player Development ©
Ball Mastery is the first and foundational step in our Pyramid of Player Development. The Pyramid of Player Development has been our secret weapon in enabling us to train soccer players. With it we can teach the most skills in the quickest time possible while the players are having the most fun. Use it and you will be amazed how quickly your team, your child or you improve. In fact we Guarantee it with the Soccer Industries leading guarantee. If your team, child or you yourself are not 100% satisfied with the improvements in your skills then simply return the DVD for a complete refund
The next step we will talk to you about the all important skill of passing and receiving. We will use some of our skills developed with our Ball Mastery drills and move forward to advancing the ball to and from your teammates. Look for your next email in two days…and by all means if you want this information right away just review our great offer that we discussed when you first visited the site. Our clients can access the Six Steps of Success immediately.
