I remember back when I was a teenager, there was a friend in school who was next level and made everything look easy. He said the hardest thing to master was not panicking when getting closed down. None of the other skills matter if you can't perform them under pressure.

The biggest thing for me that changed my game was the ability to slow the pace of things down in my head and just be calm in all situations. I’m 31 now and I’m a million times better than I ever was throughout my teens and early twenties, despite the slowly decreasing physical fitness. I’ve always been a strong powerful player, but I’ve always lacked the ability to have complete technique control under pressure. The moment I was able to essentially remain cool was the moment my passing, play, control, decision making, finishing etc all jumped up a couple of levels. I think that’s the difference. Most of us who play football, or have throughout our lives, have the physical ability. It’s just whether you have the mental ability. Some people have it straight away, others develop it and some never get it. I’ve also developed the ability to use my left side as effectively (in most situations) as my right, rather than being one footed. I have changed anything physically and the physical ability to use my lefts has always been there. It’s just the mental side that’s changed. It’s what I try and tell people these days is if you can improve the mental side of your game, the rest starts coming naturally.

The two main things I think I need to work on: - decision-making - composure I think improving my awareness would feed into these, so I can know when I do and don't have time.

Damn. Great tips. I'm 33 (almost 34) and recently just got into playing football with some coworkers and while I do ok technically by myself, I'm not really good in matches because some of the aspects you just pointed out. Definitely gonna work on some of these! Thanks, you just earned a subscriber

Exact How To's: Improve Awareness: 1:18 Without ball 1:34 With a ball Prioritize Strengths: - Focus on improving your strengths - Be aware of your weaknesses too Mentality: - Better and quicker to move through with teamates - Need to learn how to use your technical skills (Carrying the team) at the right time. Fitness: - Strength Based Exercises = Power and Resiliency - Flexibility and Cardio = Longevity in game

Underrated youtuber, he helps us to become a better baller! What a man!👍👍👍

As I get older (29 years old) I feel myself really trying to improve in areas like the ones listed in this video. I never played club football in my youth or any sort of casual/competitive football until I was 23, only social mess around football with my close friends who all played club football at semi-pro level. Luckily playing football with them in my youth taught me some basic technical skills and awareness. Between 23 and 25 I was always played as a destroyer in games (mainly 5's) due to the fitness I had from other sports and running, never really giving any chance to other kinds of more technical and awareness based styles of play. Once I started training on my own, analyzing my strengths and style of play I generally started to drift more into a midfield attack role/wide midfield role/SS role, keeping the good attributes I had from playing that defensive midfielder style but giving attention to awareness, recognition of space, link up play, playmaking and finishing. I knew I enjoyed these areas of football and often my football idols operated in these areas (Zidane, Pirlo, Matthaus, Lampard, Rivaldo, Baggio, Kaka, KDB to name a few), so I found myself often looking at how they play/played their game rather than seeing where the ball was going during the game all the time. I totally agree that one should look to improve their strengths and become the master of the art, most useful thing I have ever done is deeply understand what I am good at and what I am not. It will help those that are playing styles, positions and roles they simple do not fit. Makes football a much more enjoyable game overall!

watching your own games back is tjhe most humbling experiance as we never get to see ourselves from the observer perspective, which is how we judge everybody else's game. Really makes you appreciate the speed of thought/awareness/execution of the pro game. Played against a solid semi pro group in a 6 a side game and left the pitch having felt like we had just tried to play 2 different sports

These are great tips for me as a U14 recreational defender who got rejected from the school team, but also great tips for me as a coach/manager to my U10 little brother. I’ve been able to upgrade my own and my little brother’s skill sets, and these videos are a great help! However, he has asthma, and he wants to improve his stamina, so could you perhaps give some tips about training as a footballer with a condition?

Love these tips!! A semi professional player once told me a couple of these as well! He also said that the key difference between the best and average is not often technique, strength, stamina, or speed but the time required to make a decision; those with great awareness and mentality minimize the their time required per action (although top class players also often have great technique to execute the actions they want to do).

Great vid! I’ve had to work on awareness on the pitch and looking over my shoulder. It’s helped a lot and I enjoy playing more and more as I get better.

I'm basically learning how to play football in my 40s. I've coached juniors and had a lot of practice passing and receiving, I play in the backs and that's mostly enough. I realised this week though that my dribbling is awful. As you say here, even just a few touches can really open things up, so I'm going to spend a lot more time training my dribbling. Get all the basics up to good standard, then focus on strengths.

Great videos, man. Honestly, you are the only channel that answers the question we all wanna ask but feel embarrassed to

I love taking in the beautiful New Zealand scenery in your videos!

The things i need to improve on are: -better balance while dribbling and just be faster with the ball -how to use my body properly like how to guard it stuff like that -and last point is i do look over my shoulder but i dont rly see much so i need to find sth that i should be looking for cuz there is a difference to look over your shoulder and actually looking for the right things like who is where what can i do with whatever situation i am in. Guess i gotta go out more and train specifically these things but great video tho :)

I started playing football properly a month ago. I figured I need to work on -accuracy in passing -tacking -adding more cardio into my workouts

Keep up the good work. Great video you have a gift at explaining things.

Four very good points. When I was a young player, no-one believed you had a chance in football unless you were some kind of athletic specimen right from the start. Building awareness, your strengths, teamwork and fitness over the years results in a better final version of a senior player at their peak.

Great tips! I got that these habits are the base of football. This is going to help me start my football experience!!! Thanks again! 😁

Thank you this was simple advice and very helpful for me

for me personally its my confidence on the pitch, ik I have good technical and tactical skills but im just to afraid. but im still working on it this summer through my own training to find my form again ❤

interesting that you say to work on your strengths rather than weaknesses. ive put a lot of work into making my left foot stronger and although it has improved a lot, theres still aspects about playing on my right that need work still. great video 👍

That awareness is fascinating. It's amazing to watch professionals who are just ahead of the action with their thought process. They're not hurried and rushed because they're constantly aware of what's happening around them. That's a great point.

Thanks for this video man I have tryouts in 2 weeks and I'm trying to improve my game the best I can to make a high level team this video is great will definitely be trying to implement these into my games and practice.

I've played at a high level most of my life, only stopping when I got to college. I found that my biggest weakness as a player now that I play in a Thursday night league is that I am a player who needs better players around him to excel. I have decent stamina and a solid first touch. My best skills are passing and taking set pieces. I find that when I'm not surrounded by better players or people familiar with my abilities, I tend to disappear. I want to add 1v1 dribbling to my game so that I can be better for my team. I can do 1v1 when I'm playing on one of the flanks, but cannot replicate it in the center of the park. Do you have any suggestions for dribbling while in center midfield?

I find that when training awareness every time you look over you shoulder try to find something to look at specifically or something to notice to avoid just going through the motions. its easy to turn your head and not actually register anything

Working on getting more power and accuracy on my long shots, that's my weak point, don't have enough power to send the ball to the other side of the field when one of my teammates is free and has space to move. What I learned over the years is to be fully aware of my surroundings when in the pitch, the ability to use both feet (I am a righty) when passing and kicking, I can have more control of the ball and I can set my tempo so I don't rush my decisions. I am 58 and I can confidently say, I am in the best shape of my entire life and I can play much much better than when I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s and I can still play against younger opponents in terms of speed and strength but now I play more with my head rather than just running around.

consistency and decision making has always been my issue. consistently making the right decision or consistently hitting a shot or a pass

I always need to work on my distribution as keeper. It was not something I was technically trained up on as youth. I have made progress over the years, but its something I am always looking to hone.

Great video with greater advices!!! Well done my man ☺️

Decision making, when to dribble when to shoot, when to pass, aware of space and recognize situations

great video i took a long break from playing due to discouragement from acl injury recently I have gotten back to things with coaching and playing... my biggest weakness is fitness (expected) but I have to add something that IMO should be the 5th maybe add to fitness but its balance, many of the best players are so good because their balance is superior and no enough people practice/train their balance with and without the ball. Id say awraness isn't only the look for opposition but also for positioning nothing worse than dribbling towards your own player, or giving your teammate no passing lane. GREAT VIDEO THO!

Nice to see Eastbourne, Wellington as the backdrop for global footy content. I've played many games at Bishop Park (in Eastbourne), affectionately known as the Postage Stamp because it's so small. Liked your video Tony...

thanks for the video mann, really helpful

I’ve recently realised that in defence (off the ball) I would go into a tackle with fight reflex whilst on the ball on the dribble would have flight reflex. By recognising this I’ve started to ‘fight’ in attack and defence and my game has improved. Took a while I’m 47.

I'm only a sunday league footballer but a lot of the competition are ppl who play or used to play competition. My main strenght is my fitness, and at the start i had a lot of weaknesses. I still have most of those weaknesses, but i found that focusing on my pace and cardio did more for me than focusing on my weaknesses, so that is indeed a great tip.

3:30 That goal by Jack Wilshere against Norwich was a real team goal. Speed of thought, speed of passing. Unforgettable!

I struggle a lot with decision making. And although with other weaknesses I have been able to iron them out through drills. I struggle to find drills or training to do to sharpen my decision making when on the pitch. Especially when I don't really have anyone else to practice with outside team training

Well said 👏🏽

Useful video. Just gonna restart playing football after a few years off the pitch, this definitely helped.

Hehe, here you are at 100k+. Congrats and awesome growth man!

It comes naturally for me. My nephew is not and I'm scratching my head to think what to teach him. Have been practicing with him how and when to pass and tackle. There is alot still missing in his game. Subscribed because it's really good in helping my nephew. Thanks.

This is an excellent video! Earned an immediate sub from me. Keep up this quality of content, and your channel is going to blowup!

Knew you were an Arsenal fan just based off the clips you've used in other videos. We've had some great players to look to for inspiration! Love your videos, keep it up! #COYG

needed these tips tbh. I hope your channel blows up on suscribers!💪🇦🇷

I think I need a whole video on awereness, but this is still really helpful. Thanks :D Also I need to work on Awareness and fitness

The best video ive seen in a long time.. educational and also funny. Some people can talk about football like its the worst thing in life.. my coach for example. How can i deal with that? He focus a lot on the negatives and not really when something is going good.

I play in goal, yet in scrimmages when playing as a field player I am one of the sharpest looking players because I simply look behind me. It’s amazing how almost no one does that quick action and yet makes all the difference. Heck I rarely even train with my footwork.

Rlly great video bro

I think being calm and consistent is a big factor too. Obviously, the technical skills take hours upon hours to master, but to be able to execute them with consistency in pressure situations requires a ton of self-confidence.

Great video!😃Amateur, Semi-Pro or Pro, young & old, Football is for everyone!❤‍🔥

i will stay calm and play for the team. when I make a conscious effort to look up and not tense up I play amazing. Working on the basics this summer and match situations

know your strenght is a very good advice. I am not good at dribbling that much I get my through ball protect the ball and I have an amazing shot both right and left foot. I can pass too and I know where to stand in the box this led me to play 2nd tier football in turkey I have 5 homes I drive my dream ar. kids are in a really good school. married to my high school sweetheart I thank god everyday for this. ofcourse I wanted to become the best but still I take nothing for granted.

just found this channel really loved the tips. i’m going to be 16 in a few months and i really want to join a good academy/club and these tips are really helpful. keep up the work 😮😊

Controlling the ball & panicking, for me, needs some practice. Never took any lessons except the ones picked up with friends. It's definitely a really fun sport I would love to improve in. Oh also more cardio lol.

When i was younger I played right back and was taught awareness straight away, "always check behind you" is what my coach told me and have never forgotten to do so. Also in football sometimes when a corner or a freekick is coming in, sometimes the opposing last man isnt marked, therefore a potential goal could be scored. Also having good vision and awareness helps with interceptions, anticipating the pass and having good timing can be a quick counter-attack.

keep going bro love from india❤

hey bro, just wanted to tell you that the quality of content here suggests you gonna make it far on ytb, keep grinding

Thank you very much. Take care

Excellent video, now I know exactly what to do to make sure that my peers immediately recognize me as an amateur that I am. Just need to keep doing what I'm doing.

Great tips for improvement, thanks a lot i admire your video and surely we be taking it to work. Just know that you've earn a subscriber ☝

I appreciate the editing work that went into making this

Wished I'd worked that all out at 15... Too late now lol. But I really enjoy my amateur football kickabouts. And there's no pressure or stress. Just fun, that's the main thing 😁

Incredible video, reading through most of the comments lot’s of people seem to feel they lack(ed) composure which is funny for me because I have abundances of it, so much so that I used to let pressing players get too close, this probably has something to do with my passing ability, being able to (and being too greedy about) find deadly passes from my role as a centre back or deep full back and my confidence of going round the attacker (which I probably shouldn’t be doing in my position). One thing I definitely do lack though is bravery, I have always struggled to go for headers despite being almost 6’0 and was even taller for my age when younger. Additionally since I got injured in a pointless tackle I have even started to be scared of tackling, instead I always wait for them to hit it out too far so that I can regain possession for myself or kick it out depending on the situation, but if there’s any chance they can get to the ball I often won’t go in even when it really should be a tackle.

I struggle a lot in every aspect of football. What im confident in, is my speed without the ball. Allowing me to switch postion fast

The most important thing above all is the focus and the ability to concentrate and deliver in those 90 minutes you have to be ready and able to take the best decision .

This video is so great! You deserve a lot more subscribers!

Nice video bro keep going ❤️

The BEST thing I ever did when coaching was to realise that I didn’t coach footballers, but PEOPLE who PLAYED football. That realisation turned my whole approach to focus on the PERSON first. Once I did that then ALL the players grew as individuals AND as a team. I just provided the Emotional Scaffolding to enable players to go as high as THEY wanted to. I remember the quote “HEART IN OVEN, HEAD IN THE FREEZER” that sums up things. That and “PIZZA” when coaching speed of play.... If a player in training was tackled before playing then I called out “PIZZA” which related to what I had coached previous....that you “Wouldn’t leave a pizza in the oven too long would you?” But I also coached players to focus on playing to teammates who were moving not just standing still. I remember creating something called “THE 4 Gs” 1: GET THE BALL 2: GET IT FORWARD AS FAST AS POSSIBLE SAFELY 3: GET A SUCCESSFUL STRIKE ON THE OPPONENTS GOAL 4: GOAL

thanks , this was very helpful.

I've been playing a lot of casual 8 a side recently through an app called footy addicts and it's given me the chance to play lots of different positions and improve my fitness. Can now play 2 whole games without fatiguing too much, which adds up to 120 minutes. I've always been good in defence ever since I was young (I was always picked at right back or centre back for my height) but weirdly I've found that I can play winger and striker quite well. I'd say the key things to have are awareness, composure and calmness when under pressure, and to learn how to use your body to protect the ball. Bulking up in the gym over the last 10 or so years has really led to me being able to do more things on the pitch, whether it's shoving someone off the ball and being stronger than them or using explosive power to outsprint people.

ive got pretty good awareness and shooting. besides that, i struggle against much physically stronger opponents who come in for rough tackles and stuff

I think many people have complications with positioning their selfs on the field. You could take about that. Nice Video, i like it!

the biggest things I need to work on is staying calm as sometimes I become rushed and impulsive and working more with my speed because although just sprinting past someone isn’t as fun or flashy as skilling them it’s more effective

amazing video top quality

if you have no really good strengths to start out with, just train everything equally for around a month and then after that see what your best at, it’ll help a lot in the long run with playing at your strengths

This channel is gonna take off in a few years if he keeps making videos like this❤❤

I got all this covered, being Brazilian myself, I just lack the fitness to last 5 minutes into the game lol

I've always had a strong right leg. One of the best things I did when I was 12 was go up to the field by myself and figure out how to kick with my left leg. My left footed shot was weak sauce. I had to systematic break down my kick with my right leg, so I could start to compare the differences between what I was doing with both kicks. There was a lot of taking kicks with one leg then the other. Then thinking critically about wherever there was a difference. It was a journey that helped me understand so much about body mechanics that it made me a better shot with my right leg and made me competent with my left. Now that I'm older it's also made me a better coach bc I have a put so much time into understanding how it all comes together I can see where players are doing things correct and what they need to change.

The best video for yard level footballers. Well, just bravo, nothing to add. What does it take to play football more or less well? I came to these conclusions gradually. 1. Before receiving the ball, and indeed without the ball, you need to know in advance what you will do next. Platini already knew where he would give the ball before receiving, and did not crumple the rolls in thought. This saves a lot of time. I generally like to play in 1 touch. Planned for yourself to give a pass to someone or immediately charge on goal - you take your opponent by surprise. 2. Truly, so. Well, that I will rush in the middle of the field, taking the ball away, or participate in multi-move. I have never been able to do this. My football strength is either in the frame or in the libero position, especially if the team likes to play from defense and forms a powerful wall or very close to someone else's goal at the far post on the left and on the right foot sharply - immediately to the goalkeeper from the bottom into the corner with the first touch or pass to the oncoming . I need to move not circling the field, but mostly vertically from goal to goal. We rubbed the ball - rolled away, took it immediately forward to the far post. A sharp counterattack is my everything. 3. Yes, yes, yes. The ball flies faster than any dribbler with the ball can run. I don't believe in dribbling, I believe in passing. Football is a simple game. Opened, gave. Gave, opened. 4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Well, it's impossible to play football with a weight of 115 kilograms, like I have now. Any skinny, blunt-nosed runner will take you down on the football field in 15 minutes if you're a fat pig. As soon as I dropped the weight to 79 in my youth, then you have a pass, a defense, and a strike. Everything goes. Well, breathing needs to be developed. You need at least 3 months of constant games 3 times a week to stop choking.

One thing I do to stay aware, is listen for other players, this is first nurtured by having a look around to see where everyone is, which is easier to do the less likely you are to receive the pass, but once you are likely to receive a pass, it can be better just to look at the player passing and track others’ movements with hearing

ball control with my weak foot. this video was very helpful thanks

i need help with my fitness. my stamina, strength and speed are all incredibly lacking, but I’m on the grind and running more, so hopefully I can get good soon

No matter your goals or level your playing at currently it’s always good to be good at all these for the group your playing with.

I played football for 13 years and got pretty far, I played in the 3rd division in my country at 15 which is decent. My biggest problem was always my passing, I could never get better at it for some reason, we did passing drills all the time and I tried practicing it on my own but I just didnt have that passing vision. I was a defender so I was always scared to pass the ball wrong and put us in a dangerous position.

For me, I’ve been putting in work by myself since last summer, the only thing I’m lacking is self confidence and staying composed while receiving the ball, I’m trying to get that but don’t know how

Lets go!!!! I lack all of 4 of the habits, I can FINALLY call myself an amateur.💪💪

Great video

For those players who are skinny (like I am), it´s a great advice to constantly move the ball between one foot to another. Maybe our body isn´t strength enough, but we have to compensate with speed and a great field vision. peace, and keep playing!!

Great content🔥

And it's hard . When you chase that through through pass and you get boxed out. Heart rare already starts pounding. That's how it was for me . Doing alot more cardio in gym now. You never quite know until you're in the game though.

suprised working on the 1st touch was not in this video. how yo cushion a crossed pass is so powerful for setting up a shot on goal more favourably

You made me a better footballer.I have started for my Senior Team after 2 years and I'm 19 years old this year. Thank You so much.I love your videos it has helped me improve what was missing

I pass too much; Is that possible? When I have a good shot I get pressured by my teamates and decide to pass to them rather than take it myself. This happened throughout my early life and beyond causing me to get into the habit of being more aware and passing the ball more often (because if I lost it I would also get yelled at). It sounds like typical children’s soccer (sorry, it’s not football) but it’s really had an impact on my playstyle. Can I become more confident? Edit: Also, can you make a video on *how* to recognise and build on my strengths… because I feel like, maybe, I’m missing some. I can tackle really well and am observant and aware of space. I have good passing capabilities and I put spin on like *every* ball I touch (is that a strength? ;) . I’m not really sure how to focus on those strengths, except for maybe the passing, the rest comes with game time. I also want to be more well-rounded, so when do I know when to begin focusing on my weaknesses, or do I do that at the same time as my strengths?

First video and worth subscribing 🙌

Top content, @thefootballfolk ⚽ I'm looking forward to release new videos myself! Best of luck with your channel 💪

Thankyou mate . I'll work on all these points ❤️😭

The thing i struggle with the most is confidence. At practice i have tons of confidence and play the ball well and do everything great. But when we have a game i get nervous and i sell a lot because i dont have a lot of confidence. So i should work on that too.

thanks for the tips

I like to keep a map of all the players and where they are in my head as if I'm watching tv. I do this, especially during pick-up games where it's 7v7 or 9v9. If I tried to do 11v11, id get a headache by the end of the game. I don't know if you do the same but every time I watch Messi or any pro players, they always scan the pitch and I think that's what they do also.