Improve your confidence.
The more you believe in yourself, the stronger your decisions will be. The most important part of soccer is being able to make creative, smart decisions while you're playing. Using positive affirmations, like “I can do this” and “I am playing my best today,” is a great way to give yourself a confidence boost in the moment. Practicing hard in your off-time is a great way to ensure that you’re confident when it comes time for the games. Working out in your spare time will help you feel confident physically. The better you feel, the stronger you’ll be when it comes time to make big choices on the field. A lot of your decision making is informed by how you feel about yourself as a player, and the more confident you are, the smarter you’ll be on the field. The phrase “fake it until you make it” can really help if you feel unsure. Just pretend like you’re the best player on the field, and act accordingly. Acting super confident will eventually make you super confident! If you find yourself in a rut, try doing something that you know you’re really good at for a few days. It could be a video game, another sport, or even homework for a class you’re strong in. Sometimes, reminding yourself that you’re strong at something can pull you back into a better headspace.
Stay calm on the field.
Learning to cope in high-stress environments will keep your head clear. Regulating your emotions and being able to keep your cool is a great way to make sure you’re making smart decisions. A lot of this comes down to exposure. Don’t shy away from difficult situations on the field, and make an active effort to be in the middle of the action when it makes sense to do so. The more practice you get in stressful situations, the less scary they’ll be in the big game. To calm down in the moment, take some deep breaths in through your nose, focus on your belly expanding, and slowly let the air out through your mouth. Really focus on your diaphragm and you should feel your nerves washing away! In the heat of the action, your adrenaline will take over. The trick is to keep your head clear during the downtime on the field. Don’t overanalyze how you’re performing, realize that you’ve practiced all of this before, and remind yourself that it’s just a game. You can also meditate in your spare time. Meditation is a great way to get in touch with your emotions, and regular meditation will help you keep your cool during games.
Track the ball mentally at all times.
Knowing where the ball is should inform every decision on the field. Keeping your head on swivel and tracking the ball in your mind is essential when it comes to making smart decisions on the field. If you lose track of the ball, you’re more likely to find yourself in a high-pressure situation out of nowhere, and you’ll have a much harder time making a smart decision on the fly. If you’re running with your back to the ball, turn your head every couple of seconds to search for it. Use this information to plan the route that you’re running so that you place yourself in the best position to make a play. When you’re actively guarding an opponent, split your attention between the ball and the attacker. Covering the route between the attacker and the ball while still covering the opponent’s path to the net is essential, and losing track of the ball and your opponent at the same time can be disastrous. The goal here isn’t to know every single thing that’s going on at all times, but to make sure that you have enough information to respond intelligently as the play develops.
Anticipate your teammates’ behaviors.
Soccer is a team game, and your teammates should inform your decisions. On offense, if one of your teammates is acting like they’re about to call for the ball, play towards them! If a teammate looks out of breath, maybe now isn’t the best time to pass them the ball. On defense, communicate with your teammates to ask for help and keep every zone covered, and try to identify when your teammates are about to be beat. Take the matchups into account as well. If the other team has a really strong left striker and you’re playing the left defender, maybe you want to play a little bit to the left side of the field to help your winger!
Play keep away with your teammates.
Keep away is a simple way to practice your in-the-moment reactions. Grab two teammates or friends and have one of you play defense. Then, play keep away! The two players on offense will pass the ball back and forth, or dribble away from the defender. Whenever the defender gets the ball, the player that lost it becomes the new defender. This is a great way to build your in-the-moment decision making skills, and it’s super fun! Essentially, any drill that involves someone putting pressure on you to make a decision quickly is going to help your critical thinking skills on the field. At its core, keep away requires you to make a choice between “dribble away” and “pass” at every moment. The defender has to choose between “steal” or “guard.”
Do attacking drills with players on the wings.
This simple drill will help you make tough calls in the moment. Set two teammates or friends up on either side of you. Have one defender in front of you, and ask them to pass you the ball. Then, dribble and advance with the ball towards the defender. Try to beat them. Based on your defender’s movements, choose between dribbling around them, passing to your left, or passing to your right. This will hone your response time and decision making in high-pressure moments. You can swap back and forth with the defender so that you get some practice on defense as well.
Get advice from your coach.
Nobody knows you like your coach, so ask them for feedback! Pull your coach aside before or after practice and just ask them, “What do you think of my decision making on the field?” Often, players are their own worst critics, and nobody sees your play as objectively as your coach. They’ll give you specific feedback on where you should dedicate your energy when it comes to improving. Listen carefully to what they tell you, don’t get defensive if you don’t like their answer, and ask them what you can do to sharpen your skills. For example, if your coach says, “I think you occasionally miss an opening to pass the ball when you’re attacking,” work on dribbling quickly while keeping your head up. Practice your ball handling and passing. The next time you play, keep the advice in mind when it comes time for the big game! It’s possible that your decision making is actually really good and you just don’t know it! If your coach tells you that you should focus your off-field efforts on a technical skill first, do it. You’ll build your decision-making abilities over time as you keep playing, but you have to get the fundamentals down first.
Watch the professionals play.
Analyzing professional games will teach you a lot about decision making. Don’t just sit there and enjoy the game—put on your thinking goggles and study the games like a tactician! Follow the player on each team who plays your position. Note how they move when they don’t have the ball, and see how they play off of the opposing team’s movements. Watching a pro play your position will give you a better sense for how you can position yourself to intercept the ball, line up for a strong shot, or beat your opponent to the ball. For example, if you see a striker constantly walking backwards before sprinting at an angle towards the net, look for the way the defender follows them and gives them more space. If the defender gets beat, where did they slip up? If they stay on top of them, where is the defender facing in relation to the ball? Note the way players respond to pressure. On offense, when do they pass? When do they try to dribble past defenders? On defense, when do they back away from the ball versus attacking and going for the steal? Try to watch different teams play; don’t just follow your favorite team. Every professional team has a unique scheme, and you’re more likely to pick new things up if you’re watching a bunch of different teams.
Play FIFA in your off-time.
The video game FIFA will force you to think about soccer in a new way. It sounds strange, but when you play FIFA, you set the schemes and plays. You also control every player on the field. This will give you a better overarching view of what’s happening on a soccer field, and you can actually learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t from a strategic point of view. This isn’t to say that you should dedicate dozens of hours a week to playing video games and expect to become a better player. However, if you’re going to do anything in your leisure time for fun, this isn’t a bad way to go!
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