How to Get Better at Soccer

5 Ways To Improve Soccer Skills: Effective Practice Drills and Performance Tracking

The Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Soccer Skills!

Soccer, or Football as it is referred to in Europe, requires a blend of physical fitness, technical skills, tactical understanding, and mental strength. Whether you are brand new at soccer or an established player looking to improve your skills, this guide will help take your game to the next level. We’ll go over important key areas such as technical skills, general fitness, mental preparation, and how tools like SkillShark can help you get better at soccer.

1. Master the Basics of Soccer

a) Ball Control and Dribbling in Soccer

As a soccer player, the ability to control the ball is the foundation of your soccer skills. Without good control, it will be hard to pass, shoot, or dribble effectively.

Follow these steps to improve your soccer dribbling skills:

• Practice Juggling: Do some juggling drills to improve your coordination.
• Cone Dribbling: Set up cones in various patterns and practice dribbling through them using both feet. This helps in improving agility and control. Eventually, try to dribble without looking at your feet – that’s where the real challenge begins.
• Wall Passes: Use a wall to practice passing and receiving of the ball to help with a soft first touch.

See our blog: Mastering Soccer Dribbling: A Guide for Soccer Players, here to learn more specifics.

b) Soccer Passing and Receiving

The art of passing and receiving is the essence of soccer:

• Short and Long Passes: Practice not only short but also long passes to your team members or targets for improvement in your range.
• One-Two Drills: Work on the one-two quick passing drills with your partner to keep fine-tuning your reaction time and accuracy. To learn more about One-Two drills, check out this article.
• Receiving Techniques: Learn how to receive the ball with parts of your foot to maintain possession and set up the next move.

c) Soccer Shooting

Practice soccer shooting techniques that can make you more dangerous in front of the goal:

• Placement Over Power: First, focus on the placement, then gradually add power.
• Different Angles: Shoot from different angles and distances, simulating situations that can happen during the game.
• A Weak Foot: Do not be lame to one side of the field. The ability to shoot with both feet will make you unreliable for defenders.

2. Fitness Levels to Get Better at Soccer

Football is a very demanding sport for the body.

As a soccer player you require endurance, speed, strength, and agility:

a) Stamina

• Interval Training: Train your stamina through HIIT training.
• Long Runs: Run at a moderate pace over large distances. This will improve your cardiovascular stamina, which eventually will lead you to keep going for the full 90 minutes.

b) Speed and Agility

• Sprint Drills: You will also want to add sprints at various distances to your training to develop more explosive speed. Agility ladder drills develop quicker feet and coordination, in turn making you much better around the pitch. Plyometric exercises like box jumps and burpees will make you more explosive and quick.

c) Strength Training

• Core Workouts: A strong core equates to better balance and power. Incorporate planks, Russian twists, and leg raises.
• Lower Limb Strength: Squats, lunges, and calf raises are the three most important exercises for the legs, that guarantee the stable groundwork upon which powerful shots can be made.

3. Tactical Understanding in the Game of Soccer

a) Soccer Game Observation

• Professional Match Watch: To understand positioning, movements, and decision-making, watch professional matches.
• Performance Analysis Tools: Use analysis tools such as SkillShark to break down your performances and find a way to get better. SkillShark can track key metrics, review video footage, and give direct feedback from coaches.

b) Positional Awareness for Getting Better at Soccer

• Know Your Role: Each and every position on the field has distinct in-game responsibilities. Knowing what your role is, greatly enhances your functionality as a contributor to the team.
• Spatial Awareness: Be aware of positioning at all times, including that of the ball, your teammates, and opponents. This will help in making better decisions and placing your body in matches accordingly.

4. Soccer Player Mental Preparation

a) Confidence in Soccer

• Positive Visualization: Regularly practice visualizing plays and their outcomes that instil confidence in them.
• Set Goals: Ensure both short-term and long-term goals are set to keep yourself motivated and focused.

b) Focus and Concentration in Soccer

• Mindfulness Techniques: Undergo mindfulness or meditation to enhance your ability to focus and work under pressure.
• Pre-Game Routine: Identify a pre-game routine that puts your mind in a good place before matches.

c) Managing Pressure in a Soccer Game

• Controlled Breathing: Learn various ways of breathing to help you control your nerves in high-pressure moments.
• Experience: The more you compete, the easier it will become to be under pressure. Compete in various ways, such as in indoor and outdoor soccer to challenge yourself in competitive situations.

5. Utilize SkillShark to Track Your Soccer Player Improvement

Development in today’s soccer world can be accelerated with SkillShark! SkillShark is an athlete evaluation software designed to help you in tracking performance metrics: logging of key statistics such as passing accuracy, shooting percentage, and fitness levels over time. You can also perform video analysis, upload and analyze videos of your games to review your performance and pinpoint areas that need improvement.

Get Feedback: With SkillShark, you’ll get detailed feedback from a soccer coach or scout. That way, you can zero in on those things you need to work on. With SkillShark, you can put together a development soccer plan that suits you and track your progress, so you’re always rest assured you’re moving forward in your soccer game.