​The first touch is arguably the most important skill in soccer. Without a good one, you won’t ever have the opportunities to use your other skills because a DEFENDER will have already closed in. Unfortunately, the first touch is also one of the most difficult skills to learn — it makes the difference between good players and great ones. 

Be Aware of Your Teammates. No matter how you plan to control the ball, you need to know where you want to put it. The point of a good first touch is putting the ball in space and getting it out of your feet so you can deliver a crisp pass or take a clean shot. So in the moment before the ball comes to you, take a peek around. It’s as simple as putting the ball where a defender is not. And as your touch improves, your confidence will, too, and you will be able to look up sooner.

Get the Ball Under Control. Once the ball reaches you, you have several options. Take the ball with: Cushion the ball with the inside or outside of either foot, thigh, chest, head or any part of your body but hands.  Track the ball in movement, put your body behind it, and don’t remain stiff. The same way your hands move back to soften a catch, cushion the ball with whichever part of your body you are using. Ideally, you should be on your toes, knees bent and arms out for balance.

Bring the ball down! The first thing you want to do is get the ball on the ground if it isn’t there already — that’s where it is easiest to handle. Doing that requires a soft touch and a generally downward motion of your body. With your foot, almost sweep the ball to the ground when it comes to you. With your thighs or chest, the goal is to provide a cushion for the ball to land on before letting it drop in front of you. You can control the direction of the touch by turning your hips or your shoulders.

Once you have the ball in your possession, you need to be looking around to either run with it, pass, or shoot — so keep your head up. Then, with a tap from the outside of your foot or your instep, push it a couple of feet in front of you to give your kick some room or starting your dribbling. From there, its up to your creativity. The quicker and more natural your first touch becomes, the more time it will give you to plan your next move. The best players always seem to have time and space on the ball because of the quality of their first touch.

Practice makes perfect! All you need for the easiest first-touch drill is a wall and any kind of ball (even a tennis ball works). Throw or kick the ball at the wall from a variety of angles and bring it under control as it bounces back — left foot, right foot, thighs, chest, even shoulders and head. There really is no secret to it. It may sound simple, but it’s the best way to develop those instincts alone. If you have the luxury of practicing with someone else, the drill doesn’t change much. Your teammate takes the place of the wall and have fun with the ball. 

​How is your first touch?

Learn The Process, Click HERE

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The freezing temperatures are here! Here are some tips to stay warm during training and matches.

Today’s most youth soccer players are tired. What happens if a soccer player doesn’t get enough sleep? How important is sleep anyway?

Although sleep is most times overlooked when planning out a training regimen, it should be considered as equally important as nutrition and physical conditioning. Slowed reaction times lead not only to missed pass or goal opportunities but can result in injuries as well. No matter what level they are performing at that they need to listen to their bodies. When preparing for a physically demanding match or training, it is important to ensure that you are hydrated before, during and after, are well fed and have given your body the proper nutrition to supply the body with energy throughout the entire match.

Sleep is a requisite if you want to be great on the field: Sleep experts have been studying the effects of sleep deprivation for many years and have determined that the lack of sleep affects the athlete greatly in the following ways:

• Slowed Reaction Times.

A slowed reaction time of even one second due to mental fatigue from sleep deprivation can make all the difference on a football field. Sleep studies on athletes have shown that a single “all-nighter” has decreased reaction times by up to 300%. With that in mind, imagine standing in front of a goal when the football comes flying at you feet!

Sleep to Recover:

• Increased Injury Rates.

While we sleep our bodies use this time to repair, regenerate and re-energize. After a long practice or match, when an athlete has fatigued their body and mind, sleep becomes crucial.

Muscle fatigue and breakdown, which occurs after strenuous activity, and needs adequate time to heal for the muscles to repair and regenerate before the next activity in order to refrain from injury. A lack of sleep can also increase stress. Elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, has also been shown to interfere negatively with tissue repair and growth. SLEEP DEPRIVATION CAN ALSO LEAD TO SLOWED DOWN REACTION TIMES. And, a slow reaction on the field can lead to injury in the form of a collision with another player or being hit by a ball you didn’t see coming your way.

A lack of sleep can also increase stress. Elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, has also been shown to interfere negatively with tissue repair and growth.

• Energy Storage.

Glucose and glycogen — stored glucose — are the main sources of energy for athletes. In a healthy athlete, glucose is stored in the muscle and is released as the body is put under physical stress.

Those who are sleep deprived may experience lower energy storage levels, which is needed to perform at peak levels in endurance events like soccer. Sleep impacts a soccer player’s performance: With busy schedules, often sleep suffers and no one really thinks about the lack of sleep impacting peak performance. This a big mistake.
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In today’s fast-paced world, sleep is thought of as a luxury as opposed to a necessity. SLEEP IS NOT A LUXURY. This way of thinking needs to change, especially in the athletic population if a peak performance is expected out of the body every time it touches the soccer field.

Recommendations: What are the recommended hours of sleep for youth and adult athletes/soccer players?
This is a hard question to answer because like with most things in the human body, the number of hours of sleep needed is individually based, especially when we are talking about athletes. Sleep experts for many years have recommended 9-10 hours of sleep for the average adolescent or teen and 7-9 hours for the average adult, but those hours may need to be increased for the athletic population.

​Proper focus on sleep and  will allow the body the time it needs to recover and re-energize to perform at your best!

Meet Alexia Putellas, the back to back Ballon d'Or winner for 2021-22.

Highlights on social media, scoreline, parent sideline, prizes for individual stats, the opponent style of play, time left on clock etc... all force you to make a decision of how to play during the match. 

The correct decision, by far, is the one that retains possession. Here are examples of risky decisions...

• Dribbling by a player, or two or three
• Forcing a pass forward 
• Booting a ball 40 yards forward
• etc...

Why is that risky? Well, player turning over the ball and wasting what could have been a much better scoring opportunity to score 2, 5 or 20 passes later. An opportunity to truly develop "soccer IQ."

The most important thing every player should understand is, in general:

1. If a player's priority is to play simple and retain possession: HIGH Futbol IQ
2. If a player's priority is to take risk: LOW Futbol IQ

Of course great players need to be "technical" but that is not enough to be world class. The players needs to have game vision and intelligence with that technical ability.

That is the process to the top.

Inspired by 343

Consciously or not, every player that is part of the team, during the game faces many opportunities that demand different decisions. The players decision that is fast and correct is extremely influential in the game.

“Everything starts from what the player sees. Not from what they looks at.” 

​If the player is aware, there is no place to fear and they will want the ball. They become responsible, creative and confident in the game. The basis of the decision process is information. The time, quality and frequency of gained information is a key in this process.

Constantly moving, players must be aware of which direction and part of the field they should move and why. That is perception, sense of awareness, and our field of sight. However, our field of view is limited, but our awareness can improve by understanding this:
​

​1) Scanning the field - Player gathers information from surroundings.
2) Correcting body position
3) Correcting position on the field 

Types of information on the field
– Offense
– Defense
– Ball
– Where is the space with advantage (free space, numerical balance)
– Where are opponents
– Where are teammates
– Position in the formation
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Based on the received information, a player must analyze them in relation to their position, principles and, assessment of the risk and which solution will bring the biggest advantage for the team. 
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Always be ready to shoot, believe it in. Check out these golazos. 

A great example of defensive team movement, enjoy.

Always be a step ahead, be aware, scan the field, focus on your first touch and execute the perfect pass. Check out these top 10 assists.

Watch it in slow-mo and rewind it so you can notice the details.

Check out behind the scenes of the USMNT.

Check out these free kicks.