5 Soccer Mistakes In Practice That Keep You Average

The way you train will be the way you play come game time.

I'm sure you've heard this saying before, but have you taken it to heart yet? Habits are formed in training and if you are not deliberate with them, you may find yourself not performing in matches. 

I've observed many mistakes in myself in the past and many in players I see that I think can be avoided and if removed from their training, would lead to faster growth and better performances in games!

Not Training Under Pressure

One of the biggest training mistakes I see is players not practicing under pressure.

Sure, you'll have plenty of training where it is just you and you can only replicate pressure or where you are working strictly on technique. 

However, in matches, you'll be closed down, tackled, tracked and so on. You need to be used to being put under pressure. 

It changes the whole landscape of things and your speed of play. Best way to work on this is grabbing a mate and practicing with him pressuring you in different situations. 

If you're by yourself, pretend that someone is pressuring you. Really feel like someone will take the ball from you unless you act quickly. 

Skipping The Fundamentals

I go over this often, but if you are not working on the fundamentals often in your training, you're hurting yourself!

The pros work on theirs all the time. Sure, there are more nuanced and advanced training as well, but they are all built on the foundation of solid fundamentals. 

Typically, the harder drills are just a bunch of fundamentals done together. 

So aim to master the fundamentals. You're not beyond them and there is never being good enough at them. 

Only Training With The Ball

We all love to train with the ball. We love to work on our dribbling, beating players one on one, and of course...

Shooting and goal scoring!

However, if you are neglecting the non glamorous parts of being an athlete, it can hurt you in the short and long term.

Especially in the long term.. trust me on this one. 

So you need to incorporate strength, mobility, flexibility, balance, fitness, etc training into your life. 

You can have all the technique in the world, but if you can only play for 30 minutes before being winded or are constantly getting injured because you haven't worked on these areas, then it doesn't matter.

Going Through The Motions 

This is probably the most common one I see. 

If you are not constantly tuned into what you're doing, you run the risk of going into autopilot also known as...

going through the motions. 

Why is this dangerous? Because if you go through the motions in training, you will default to what's easier instead of pushing yourself and continually growing. 

You'll also be more likely to go through the motions in matches which is not good! 

Aim to be as focused as you can be in your training and you'll not only find that you will be more focused in your games, but that you are becoming a better and better player.

Positional Training

Another one I find players don't put enough emphasis on is doing training that will help them stand out in their specific position!

Yes, you need to do the general stuff, work on the fundamentals, etc..

But, for example, if you are a striker but are not setting time aside to work on your finishing, you're not going to stand out! 

You want to identify the areas that will help you stand out in your position! What could you work out that would make you one of the best in this position?

You need to add those into your training. Set yourself on fire in this area! 

If you're a center back and identify as reading the game as the thing that will do this, study how the best center backs do this and then go out and do it yourself!

Seriously take a moment to see if you are doing any of these. If you are, it's fine! Just work on reducing the amount of times you make that mistake. 

If you haven't already, make sure you pick up my free ebook "Game Changer". You can find that here: FREE EBOOK