Prepare to Play Pro: April 11/24

Maximize your Playing Potential

"Only a small percentage (23.5 %) of high achieving athletes at the youth levels are likely to succeed at the adult levels"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9202474/

Soccer is a sport that requires a high level of skill, fitness, and mental toughness. To reach the highest levels, a soccer player must be committed to putting in the time and effort required to improve their game. This is where an elite level  mindset comes in.

A high-performance training program for soccer will include physical, technical, tactical, and mental components.

Physical Conditioning

To compete at the highest level, soccer players need to be in peak physical condition. Elite level training includes a variety of exercises and drills that are designed to improve a player's strength, speed, agility, and endurance. This type of training helps players to perform at their best, even during the later stages of a game and helps to avoid injuries.

Technical Skills

High performance training also focuses on continually developing a player's technical skills. The top players in the world practice technical skills like passing, shooting, dribbling, and ball control. By practicing these skills continuously , all players can improve their accuracy, consistency, and confidence.

Tactical Awareness

At the elite level, soccer is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. Elite level training helps players to develop their tactical awareness, which is their ability to read the game and make good decisions.  This includes things like knowing when to pass, when to shoot, and when to make a run. It also involves reading patterns of play “in real time” during games and recognizing triggers during games which will involve identifying a situation, during a game and then reacting quickly to this situation.

Mental Toughness

Soccer is a demanding sport, both physically and mentally. Elite level training helps players to develop the mental toughness they need to perform under pressure. This includes things like staying focused, remaining calm under pressure, and dealing with setbacks. It also includes understanding yourself so that you can prepare yourself to have the right balance between emotional control (calmness) and aggressiveness during games. This state will vary by position and also by a individuals personality.

Consistency

To reach the elite level, a soccer player needs to be consistent in their performance. Elite level training helps players to develop the consistency they need to perform at a high level, game after game. How many times have young players made impressive debuts for their teams at a young age but have failed to establish long-term careers in the game due to a lack of consistency.

Competitive Advantage

Training at a high level consistency and being obsessed about being the best version of yourself provides players with a competitive advantage. By training at a higher level, players can develop the skills, fitness, and mental toughness they need to outperform their opponents.

It happens quire regularly in soccer where young players all of a sudden emerge from lower level of the game and go on to play at much higher levels. These players have been doing the hard work for years and will start performing at higher levels than their peers - who may have reduced their commitment to training once they believe that they have reached a certain level.

A great example of this in the EPL is Jarad Braithwaite, who this season at the age of 21 has became a recognized starter for Everton. He has also been called up by England and is now valued at over 30 million Euros. He has spent 3 years at Everton, since his debut, learning and gaining experience. Many other young players have not successfully made the transition from youth level to the professional levels but he has, due to the commitment that he has shown for improvement.

The players who are committed to daily improvement will in the log-term outperform other players who may reduce their intensity during training - once they have achieved a certain level. Some players are happy with that but the most successful ones will not be and will always strive to be better.

Steven Gerrard - Be Obsessed to be the Best

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