How Can I Become A Better Soccer Player?
I’m assuming you’re searching for information about how to become a better soccer player because you’re currently experiencing some frustration in soccer.
Maybe you’re not getting enough playing time, your teammates are laughing at you, you’re playing poorly in games. Whatever your pain is…
YOU CAN OVERCOME IT!
And…
It all starts with you taking responsibility for your own development. Becoming a better player is all about “self-development“. You started that when you search for tips to be a better soccer player.
If you don’t know about me…
I used to be a player who struggled with confidence. I was slow, weak, and lazy. My coaches overlooked me, my friends laughed at me, and at one point I became so depressed I even quit soccer.
But…
Just like you…
I went on a quest to learn how to become a better soccer player and it took me down an incredible path of self-development.
Not only did I improve all my soccer skills, fitness, and confidence. I went on to win leagues & goal scoring titles, earn awards, lift trophies, get a college scholarship, and even receive international caps for my country.
I started teaching others what to do to become the greatest soccer player they can be. My youtube channel grew to 500,000+ subscribers and I’ve helped players all around the world improve at the game they love.
In my local city I coached for several youth clubs, before starting my own soccer training company. Then I went on to coach the most prestigious men’s club in my city for several years.
But enough about me…
Back to you!
If you want to improve, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take some serious action towards becoming a better player. I want your coaches, teammates, and opponents to notice a change in you. A new mentality, a new style of play, a new type of player.
The information I’m about to share with you will make you a better soccer player but only if you put the advice into action. I want to help you become a better soccer player but only you can make that happen.
Obviously, you need to practice if you want to become a great soccer player. You know that and I’ll give you more guidance on that near the end of our time today. But I want to give you some advice that’s going to make a different right now!
My goal is to make you a better soccer player but the end of this page.
All you have to do is..
- watch the 6 short videos below
- think about how this information applies to your current situation
- take action steps recommended at the end of the page
I love the fact that you’ve been asking the question: how do I become a better soccer player / footballer.
Let’s make some adjustments to your style of play and mentality that will make you become a better player the next time you step on the pitch. If you’re serious about your development, here are the videos I would like you watch today:
6 Videos To Become A Better Soccer Player
- How To Beat More Defenders in 1v1 Situations
- How To Stay Calm Under Pressure
- The Science of Shooting Technique
- Your New Love Affair With Defending
- How To Get More Involved When You Play
- Mental Toughness Masterclass
Please pay attention while you watch the videos. Make a genuine effort to apply what you learn the next time you practice with your team or play a match. Let’s do this!
How To Become A Better Dribbler
Every player wants to beat more defenders but they usually have the wrong approach. It’s not their fault, the internet has set you up to fail. Luckily, I’m here to put you back on the right path.
Players spend all their time watching fancy skill move tutorials, highlights of pro players doing crazy tricks, get lost down the freestyle rabit-hole and it develops the wrong habits.
I can say this because I made all these mistakes myself.
You start losing the ball too often, taking too many touches, pissing off your teammates, and frustrating your coaches. This is not the way to become a better dribbler.
This video explains the proper way to beat more defenders, have more confidence in 1v1 situations, and become a better soccer player!
How To Beat More Defenders in 1v1 Situations:
If you’re serious about learning how to become the greatest soccer player you can possibly be. Stop focusing on what looks cool and start learning what actually works in real-match situations!
Are you the type of player who creates with your skill?
Or are you just trying to show off?
Play with purpose!
How To Become A Smarter Soccer Player
How do I become a better soccer player?
You need to make better decisions on the ball.
When do you dribble?
When to pass?
Should I speed the play up?
Or slow it down?
Good players make the right decision at the right time. However, it’s impossible to make the right decision if you lack awareness. The more information you gather before the ball gets to you, the better your decisions will be.
If you want to improve speed of play, decision making, and overall performance on game day, this video will help you with exactly that.
How To Stay Calm Under Pressure:
Stop thinking about what could go wrong! Instead, think about what you will do to make the situation go right. Control your self-talk. Don’t think about past mistakes or the possibility of future errors. Come fully into the present moment and simply focus on doing your best.
How To Become Better At Shooting
The ball will only do what you tell it to do. If your shot isn’t accurate or powerful, something needs to change about your technique. Whenever you have a bad shot always ask yourself:
What do you need to do differently next time?
Improvement of any technique, especially shooting will only come when you develop the ability to get outside of your body and look at what you are doing wrong. Visualize what needs to change about your technique. Bring that visualization into reality with practice (more repetitions).
This video will give you a better understanding of what you can change to improve your shooting accuracy, power, and consistency. I like to call this the “science” or “physics” of shooting.
The Science of Shooting Technique:
In my opinion…
Ball striking (shooting & long passing) are some of the most important skills to practice.
If you can develop these skills you will stand out from your competition. Most players can receive and play a simple pass. Maybe even dribble a few defenders. But the players who stand out are the ones who score goals and make assists (the final product).
How To Become A Better Defender In Soccer
If you want to transform your game overnight, start defending. I became a totally different soccer player when I started to actually enjoy my defending.
Sadly, most players don’t defend. They give genuine effort when attacking but cut themselves short when defending. Not only does this make you less of a player, it’s disrespectful to your teammates.
If you put as much effort into making tackles as you do scoring goals, you’ll be a better soccer player overnight. And isn’t that what you want?
Start to enjoy making tackles, intercepting passes, blocking shots, winning individual battles, being hard to play against. This is what makes a real soccer player. Someone who contributes on both sides of the pitch.
Show some aggression and intensity. When the other team has the ball, win it back. Anyone who comes in your area does not play forward. Your opponents don’t get chances. Don’t let them get their head up to play. Don’t let them breathe. Take pride in being extremely difficult to play against.
Your New Love Affair With Defending
Just like any skill. Tackling / defending is something that you can improve overtime. Analyze the best defenders, learn from good defenders on your team, start to look at tackling as something you need to improve and it will.
If you want to become a better soccer player, you need to be a complete soccer player. The days of one-sided players are disappearing. Start to enjoy your defending.
You’ll thank me for this later.
How To Be A Better Soccer Player
It’s great you want to learn how to be a better player in soccer but all of your technical, physical, and mental improvements will be wasted if you don’t get more involved in the play.
I don’t want you to be the type of player who walks off the field blaming their teammates for not passing you the ball, or blaming your coach for playing you out of position. You never blame anyone for your lack of involvement.
How can you get more involved?
How can you get on the ball more often?
Don’t let the game pass you by. I want you to walk off the field knowing that you did everything you possibly could to impact the game. And in order to impact the game, you have to be involved.
How To Get More Involved When You Play
I’m so glad you’re working through this content because it shows me you want to improve. It shows me you actually want to learn how to become a better soccer player by yourself! You can’t rely on coaches, teammates, or anyone else to make you better – if they help that’s amazing! Be grateful when it does happen, but don’t expect anything from anyone.
Your development is your responsibility. Your involvement in the game, is your responsibility.
Become A Better Soccer Player Mentally
We should have addressed this area of your player development first because it is the most important. Soccer / football is played with the mind, we only use our feet to execute.
If you want to be a top level player, you need to understand that the real battle is played in your own head. It doesn’t matter how good your technical ability is if you don’t have the mental strength & confidence to show up when it matters most.
You must talk yourself through nerves, motivate yourself to bounce back from mistakes, and find motivation when you lose.
Great players still get scared, they lose, they fail, they struggle – they just have the bravery and mental toughness to talk themselves forward when things get difficult. True confidence is demonstrated when everything is going wrong.
Confidence is the most important soccer skill of all. Sadly, it’s also the most overlooked. This video will help you go into games with confidence. I want you to build a foundation of self-belief that you can overcome anything that happens on the pitch, because you can.
Mental Toughness Masterclass
Confidence is your own creation.
It’s created by the way you talk to yourself in your head. You are responsible for your thoughts. You control what goes on in your mind. If you don’t focus on making your mind work for you. Your mind will soon be working against you.
I cannot change the way you think. I can only open your mind up to the idea, that YOU can change the way you think.
You Are Becoming Better At Soccer
Yes! You’ve made it through some serious content. You’re starting to believe that you actually do have what it takes to become a better soccer player. Trust me, I’ve improved every single area of my game and you can do the same.
This is a great start.
I just want to give you a few more helpful ideas before you leave.
How Do You Become A Better Soccer Player?
Soccer is frustrating when you’re not getting better but when you start to see improvements in your game it become addicting.
Hopefully, the videos above have given you some new ideas to work with. You should have a boost of confidence and self-motivation.
If you’ve been trying to become a better soccer player but you aren’t making any progress. Let me simplify the process for you:
- Be real with yourself – What do you need to improve? When you admit your flaws, you create space for improvement. If you deny your weaknesses, you can never build new strengths. I promise you can improve every area of your game, if you are honest with yourself about what needs to be fixed.
- Study the game – you can try to figure it all out on your own or you can learn from the best. You must become a student of the game. Analyze the professional players and teams. Ask questions of people you respect. The more you learn, the better you will perform.
- Put in the individual practice – team training is great but you will make the biggest improvements in your technique and fitness when you start to take responsibility for your own training. In team practices there are 20 other players fighting for time on the ball, when you train by yourself 100% of the focus is on you.
- Gain match experience – training is only beneficial if you can transfer it into matches. The best way to improve is to play. The more time you spend in match situations (club team, school team, drop-in, pickup games, recreational leagues, coed, Futsal, 5v5, 7v7). It all gives you more experience and time playing under pressure.
- Learn from your failures – change the way you look at failure. You will lose, you will make mistakes, you will get cut, you will make a fool of yourself. These are all incredible opportunities for growth. Each failure is a lesson in disguise. Use that information to come back even stronger.
***PLEASE – start practicing with both feet from the beginning. Having a weak foot is a choice. My 5 year old son has two feet because he started practicing with both feet from the beginning. Don’t wait until you’re 25 years old, start this from the beginning and you will thank me later.
Did you make it through all this content?
Respect!
Most players who get distracted and lose focus halfway through. You are definitely the type of player I would love to help improve. If you’re still with me, keep reading.
The Next Step
Tired of feeling like you’re not making progress in your soccer skills? Do you want to have a more organized and effective training routine? Do you struggle with setting & achieving your goals?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Soccer Success Planner is perfect for you. It will help you stay motivated, focused, and on track towards achieving your goals. And it’s completely customizable to fit your unique needs!
Use the planner to set clear goals, track your progress, and stay accountable to yourself. With helpful prompts and exercises, you’ll be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses, plan your training sessions, and maximize your performance on the field.
Download your free copy now if you want to improve faster, get more wins, and achieve your goals this season (without practicing more) – Soccer Success Planner
Want The Best Results In Less Time?
Not getting better at soccer? Confused about how to train effectively? Maybe you’re worried that you won’t be properly prepared for your next big opportunity? Or you just want to standout and actually feel respected by your teammates, coaches, and friends?
Whatever struggles you’re going through, The Online Soccer Academy is the best solution to help you overcome obstacles and achieve goals. Thousands of players have already taken the next step and achieved incredible results in record time.
Transform your game in 90 days. Coaches and teammates will wonder how you improved so fast but only you will know. Limited spots available (More info here – Online Soccer Academy)
Wishing you success in soccer,
Coach Dylan
Progressive Soccer
Thank you for reading this article: How Can I Become A Better Soccer Player?
