Helping your Children Practise from Home

HELPING YOUR CHILDREN PRACTISE FROM HOME

 APRIL 2020

WE CAN ALL PRACTISE INDIVIDUALLY Learn how you can take your game to new heights, even during the most challenging of times.

PLUS TRAINING Videos for your young player to use to develop their game.

OpportunityElite

SUBSCRIBE FOR MONTHLY RELEASES www.opportunityelite.co.uk/ Magazine

CONTENTS Page 4: Welcome

Page 6: Subscribe on YouTube

Page 7: Practising Individually

Page 11: 5 Areas to Practise at Home

Page 13: 10 First Touch Exercises

Page 15: 50 Ball Mastery Techniques

Page 17: 15 One v One Skills

Page 19: 20 Turning Techniques

Page 21: 26 Kick Up Techniques

Page 23: This Month's Training

Page 24: Follow us On

WELCOME Hi everyone, welcome back to the latest player development magazine. In these uncertain times we all need to make sure that we are focusing on our wellbeing. I'm sure we are all missing football, I know that I am, but it will be back.

In these coming months of uncertainty we can all still practise and develop our techniques and skills. In this month's edition we're taking a look at how parents can help their young players improve.

We've got more hours at home coming up, but we can use them to our benefit, preparing all players for when football starts back up again.

Practising individually is one of our main focuses here at OpportunityElite. To reach the highest levels of the game, players need to have the determination, resilience and passion to practise on their own. Not all can do it, but the very best in the world have spent countless hours developing their game, practising all manner of skills. To become one of the best we need to practise in our own time, outside of training and matches with clubs.

Now is the perfect time for us to do that.

If we use this time well, we will see some very technical players shining when the football season comes back around again.

We hope that you all stay safe and well and hopefully we will be seeing you on the pitch sooner, rather than later.

Elliott Everson Founder, OpportunityElite

PRACTISING ON YOUR OWN IS ESSENTIAL TO BECOMING A BETTER PLAYER.

FOR BALL MASTERY, INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES AND TECHNICAL TRAINING.

PRACTISING INDIVIDUALLY Helping your young player take the next steps in their development shouldn't be difficult. It's about giving them more touches on the ball, more practise ideas and challenges to help them realise their improvement.

In these incredibly uncertain times there are going to many of us missing football. With no matches on the TV, no club matches, or training, players are going to be missing the game greatly.

But, in this situation, we can look at it as there definitely being opportunity for the players; opportunity for them to develop their game and see where their hard work can take them.

Over this time, we are all going to be spending many more extended periods at home, without the ability to head outside, socialise and, in some cases, work. This is going to give us all more time at home, and for the budding footballer they can really look at this as a fantastic opportunity to make themselves as good as they possibly can be.

Practising at home will take their development to a new level, if the player is willing to do so.

The very best players out there have spent countless hours practising on their own, developing their game due to sheer hard work and persistence. Of the very best players out there it is highly likely that they have worked harder at their games than near enough everyone else.

To reach the top they have had to work on their own, in their own time.Â

Now is the perfect time for players to do that themselves, developing their game so that they see marked improvement when football gets back up and running again.

As parents, you can definitely help your young players with this.

5

THERE ARE 5 MAIN AREAS THAT YOUR YOUNG PLAYER CAN PRACTISE ON AT HOME...

We can practise a huge amount at home, individually. Quite often we come across people who believe that a player isn't getting the best development if they aren't practising or training against someone, but that isn't always possible, and it definitely isn't now.

As we mentioned before, the best players in the world all spent time practising on their own. It isn't possible to have someone training with you as much as you want, especially if you are highly focused on reaching the top levels of the game.

To develop certain technical skills it is very important that there is a large amount of repetition of those certain skills. For instance, someone looking to improve their first touch would need to practise controlling the ball and passing against the wall for a good amount of time to see that they are improving. In situations such as now, we have the time to start developing and practising on our game.

As parents, coaches, or even siblings, we can all help.

We feel that there are five main areas that you can help your young player develop while they're at home. We can also develop many other areas on our own as well. Football is a sport with a vast assortment of skills to be practised and learned. What is great about it is that in most situations all you need is a ball.

The main stumbling block for players, coaches, and parents, is having the ideas of how to help someone individually.

This is where we can hopefully give you some ideas that will help your young player in their development!

5 AREAS TO PRACTISE AT HOME

1

FIRST TOUCH

The first touch is one of the most important, if not the most important, techniques to learn in football. If you can't control the ball how are you going to show everyone else all the skill and talent that you possess?

Developing the ability to receive the ball and position it where you want is vitally important, and we can actually practise this a lot, on our own.

A ball and a wall is one of the most effective ways of developing the first touch, allowing the player to practise receiving the ball from different angles on different parts of the feet.

Using a wall is a fantastic way to help the player develop. The individual can decide how hard they want to pass the ball, what speed, what angle and also what type of touch they can take. We don't need to have a lot of space, and the player can practise on both feet for as long as they like. It's also great because it makes sure the player focuses on the quality of their pass, ensuring that they play the ball firmly along the ground so that it can bounce back off the wall and test their first touch.

It's the perfect way to develop the young player's control of the ball. Show your young player the ten techniques below.

Consistent practice in this area will help the player develop what we call the foundations of the game, allowing them to build and develop techniques once they have the ball under control.

2

BALL MASTERY

During this time off from the game one of the most important things to focus on is getting the player as many touches on the ball as possible.Â

This is where ball mastery comes into play.

Ball mastery provides a series of touches and techniques for players to learn, developing their skill, touch, close control, balance, co-ordination and confidence using both feet. In youth development it is crucial to use ball mastery as it helps the young player master their touches on the ball while developing their skill.

What's great about it is that you don't need a lot of space, and in some cases you can even do it inside, as long as the player is sensible with the ball!

It increases the amount of touches a player takes on the ball hugely. It is quite common to take up to 500 touches, if not more, in the space of 10 minutes.

If your young player did 10-15 minutes' of ball mastery for each day until football starts again they would be a significantly better player.

Give it a try with the 50 Ball Mastery techniques on the next page.

50 Ball Mastery Techniques

3

DRIBBLING

When we help develop players, one of the most key aspects that we look at is the ability to dribble. Now, some may think that it is important for defensive players to dribble, for a centre back to be comfortable dribbling on the ball.

But, in our opinion, it is incredibly important that players are confident with the ball at their feet. There will be situations where players in all positions will have to dribble and we want players to feel comfortable when that situation does come about.

To become a good player you need to be able to dribble with the ball, not necessarily all the time in matches but the player needs to master the ball.Â

Dribbling is a huge part of that.

It's another technique that can be practised by the player quite frequently.

Dribbling through the cones past objects while keeping the ball under control all adds to the dribbling practices.

Players can also have fun by developing their skills as they are dribbling forward, adding in step-overs and little tricks. It again gives the players the chance to develop their technique.

15 One v One Skills

4

TURNING

The benefits of practising turning are very similar to that of dribbling practices. You don't need a huge amount of space or equipment. All the player needs is a ball and the ability to turn with the ball, moving to another direction.

Developing the ability to turn sharply, with the ball under control, is very important for the young player. Players that have the technique and confidence to turn away from an opponent keep the ball much better than those who don't.

The great thing about it is that the player can become as good at turning as they like. It doesn't require many outside influences; the player can practise it on their own, whenever they want. Players can have fun with learning new turning skills, they can use different parts of the feet, new skills, tricks and techniques, giving them a great understanding of what turns to use when they get back to playing football again.

Turning is a really important technical skill. If a player can't find the pass in a game we always encourage them to keep the ball.

Can they get out of trouble by dribbling, or protect the ball by turning away from their opponent?

We want players to become confident on the ball. Developing turning will allow players to realise that they can get out of pressurised situations while keeping the ball.

20 Turning Techniques

5

CLOSE CONTROL

Close control is quite a broad area for players to develop. The main focus should be that the player can keep control of the ball in a number of different ways using different areas of the body.

The better that a player is at controlling the ball, the better they will be in their all-round game.

Exercises like kick ups or little challenges for the players to complete are perfect for developing close control. Moving the ball from one foot to the other, in certain sequences or routines of touches, allows players to develop mastery of the ball while having a large number of touches.

In a game of football where the ball is in the air quite a lot, can a player develop their skills so that they are comfortable controlling the ball from different heights and different angles?

Kick up techniques and volleying routines, such as the ones in the video on the next page, will significantly help the player with their close control. As a youngster I was determined to continually beat my kick up record; with practise I would be increasing my score regularly.

Although you're not going to be using a number of kick ups in a match, it is fantastic practice at making sure you can put the ball where you want it. Set your young players challenges and see them improve. You can challenge them by making sure they use alternate feet, or one foot only.

There are so many ways that you can help your player develop, and you don't need much space at all.

26 Kick Up Techniques

During this period our young player can get a huge amount of practice in, developing their technical skills greatly.

It requires a lot of repetition and an understanding that their development won't happen overnight but if the player can practise for even 30 minutes each day, on any of the areas we've looked at, then they will see huge improvements by the time football comes back again.

The main aim at the younger ages is to make sure players have more contact time on the ball, developing their confidence and co-ordination with the ball at their feet.

Taking more touches on the ball will only benefit the player and in these times you can help them develop their game greatly.

Keep encouraging your youngster to go outside and practise, we'll get back to playing football and the more that the player practises now, the better they'll be when we do get back to playing.

Three videos to help you with your training...

THIS MONTH'S TRAINING

OpportunityElite Player Development

FOLLOW US ON