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What Made the Difference for Me as a Soccer Player

By Jacob Savino, CoachUp Nation, 11/11/19, 7:15PM PST

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How can your kid put in just as much time, just as much hard work, but multiply the value they get from it? Read below to find out.

I remember when I started playing competitive soccer as a kid, when the coaches would gather everyone together and give pointers to the team as a whole – hoping that every kid was listening, that every kid understood, that every kid cared, and that every kid would be able to apply whatever was being taught into the next drill and into the next game. And you know how that goes… Johnny’s picking the grass, Jimmy’s picking his nose, Joe keeps tapping his buddy’s shoulder, Bobby’s watching the other team warm up, a few are listening very attentively, and the rest have great eye-contact but are only half-listening to what the coach is saying.

In a team setting, a lot of the pointers and drills ARE team-centered, and there is not nearly enough direction catered toward each individual.

So, as a result, good players can get bored with drills that are too simple for them, feeling that their coach is doing the drill to focus more on the less-skilled kids on the team, while, at the same time, someone who needs more guidance from the coach may not be getting it because the coach is sharing their time between the other 15 players (only giving each player about 6 minutes of personal coaching for the day!).