the real football

From a coach’s perspective, the game of soccer is broken down into different parts.  The names for these different pieces and parts might vary, depending upon which organization is discussing them, but one name remains constant – Technique.

What is technique?  Quite simply, it is the ability to handle and manipulate the ball.  It can be passing the ball, or receiving it.  It can also be shooting or dribbling.  Each of these categories can be broken down to different sub-categories ad naseum.

Regardless of the sub-sub-sub category of technique that one considers, one fact remains true – the more effectively a player is able to manipulate the ball, the more choices that player has from which to choose.  Also, since the player has more choices, he is likely less predictable, and more difficult to defend.  He has more ways to score, more ways to set up his teammates to score, and even more ways to get himself out of trouble.

More importantly, for a kid, the better a player can manipulate the ball, the more he will enjoy the game. For me, this enjoyment is the most important reason to help a kid learn to master the ball.

One of the reasons to master technique is that the more techniques a player can learn and master, the more choices he or she has when the ball arrives on game day.  For example, if a player can adequately serve the ball over distances up to 40 yards, he has more legitimate choices than the player who can only accurately and consistently play up to 20 yards.  The player who can shape the ball with intent has more options than the one who cannot.  A player who can beat opponents on his own has more options available than the player who struggles to do so.

Why start young?  The simple version is that it is easier to get effective repetition over time, than it is to force it into a short period of time.  It is also easier to help kids learn to move their body well in executing different techniques before their muscle memory develops too far.

It is thought that it takes about 100 or so repetitions of an action to get a good feel for what needs to be done.  It takes around 1,000 to begin to develop some consistency in that technique.  To achieve the level of consistency of an average high school player, one must have about 10,000 quality reps.  For professional level consistency, and the ability for a player to perform under the intense pressure and great speed required at that level, closer to 100,000 reps are required.

For whatever level of proficiency a kid wants to attain, it is better to start with good instruction from an early age.  If a player develops bad technical habits, those habits must first be broken before the building can begin in earnest.

The numbers above are a bit staggering, I know.  Think of it this way, though – if a kid learns about good technique when he is young, he can nibble away at those numbers over a long period of time, rather than having to “cram for the test” as he approaches high school age.

In a future post, I will discuss how to use the current stage of development to best help youngsters build a solid technical foundation.