OpportunityElite - Reaching the Next Level

ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2018

OPPORTUNITYELITE Practice Makes Permanent

The more touches the better Looking to develop your game?

Check out our 20 Turning skills

Practise outside of practice

REACHING THE NEXT LEVEL

Contents

Page 3 - Welcome Page 4 & 5 - Is talent enough?

Page 6 - The more touches the better Page 7 - 20 Turning Skills Page 8 - Getting on the ball Page 9 - Soccer drills and practices Page 10 - FREE 17 Minute Ball Mastery Session Page 11- Practise outside of practice Page 12 - Reach the Next Level Page 13 - Follow us on

Welcome to February's release The dark January evenings are now starting to draw out, it's no longer dark at 4pm but the weather here in the UK is still rainy.

It sounds just like perfect football conditions!!!

It's right in the middle of the season and we are going to provide you with insight and articles on how to reach the next level, giving you the opportunity to step up in your game.

Our aim is to provide you with the tools and knowledge to develop and reach your goals within the game. There are so many players out there that you are competing against, we want to give you the edge!

We hope you enjoy reading the latest release and take some interesting insights from the edition. Keep working hard and develop your game!

Elliott Everson, Founder of OpportunityElite

Is Talent Enough?

We all have that one player that stands out in our mind, your favourite, someone who you model your game upon. As a youngster, I would quite often think of how my favourite player got to where he is now - was it luck, the right place at the right time, good coaching, connections? It would always go through my head as to how they got to the top level and how could I get there?

Whether playing for your local club, school team, or academy, there is more often than not one player who stands out in your mind. The quick striker you played with when you were 13, or the opposition's left back who you feel would be a dead cert to make it to an academy, leading to a career in the professional game.

How many times though have you heard of that player not making it, or being released by a club? It can happen more often than you think.

It would regularly make me think, is talent enough to make it to the professional levels of the game?

In my opinion, the answer is no.

Turn to the next page.

Is Talent Enough, Continued Talent is enough. The level of players competing to get in to an academy and then making first team appearances is incredibly high. In order to succeed you need to have a motivation and desire to work harder than the rest. Steven Gerrard recently described his desire as an obsession, stating in a recent BT Sport interview that to reach the top of the game you need to be obsessed.

crowd is your desire to succeed, working harder and being more resilient than the others.

I agree, I have seen many top players but the aspect that ensures you stand out from the

I highly believe that someone else out there will be.

Taking a ball out to the local park and working on your skills, committing to repetition is a fantastic way of developing your game, giving you the best chance to succeed.

As you're training just envisage your idol, are you working as hard or harder than he or she.

THE MORE TOUCHES ON THE BALL

THE BETTER!

The ball basically needs to be your best friend. The more touches that you can have, the better. It's all about feeling comfortable when you are in possession,. Practising different movements with different parts of the foot are key.

If at first you struggle, you must continue to try and try again. There are many times when you will practise a new skill, technique, or turn and it is very likely that it will feel alien to you. You may feel like your feet don't move that quickly, that your touch isn't good enough.

If you do feel that you can't do it then the one thing you must do is persevere.

Keep going and keep going. As you practise your body gets used to the movements, the proprioceptors, nerve endings in the muscles, begin to catch up with what your brain is telling you. You react much quicker, think clearer and feel more confident.

You can only get that from continued perseverance!

20 Turns to keep the ball at your feet Continue to keep the ball at your feet with these 20 turns. Focus on keeping the ball close to you and bending your knees as you turn.

The more you practise, the sooner you will be able to master them all!

Click the link below to see 20 turns training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujgjvYz5AE

It can be anything round - a tennis ball, a small ball, even a pair of socks rolled up! It will always help.

Now that you have had more contact time with the ball you will hopefully be more comfortable in the game.

Call for the ball, show your confidence. The more

Getting on the Ball

confident you act, the more

The key to being comfortable on the ball is practice. We've previously spoken about the more touches the better, which remains very much the case.

will be in giving you the ball.

Do as much as you can with the ball, think of it as an attachment to your body. It doesn't have to be a specific training plan that you follow, it can be just more contact time with the ball. The more touches you take, the better you will become.

confident your team-mates

Have the confidence to take the ball in a difficult situation, knowing that you have practised this many a time before, whether that was with your old pair of socks, or your dog chasing you around the garden!!

Simple drills To improve your Confidence On the ball Click on the links for some of our YouTube drills that will help you with your control and footwork.

Soccer Footwork & Control https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Z4Y9lvs8sTM

Dribbling Practices https://www.youtube.com watch?v=E1DJhN4GPBM

Your FREE 17 Minute Ball Mastery Practice 17 minutes of high intensity Ball Mastery practice.

Don't miss out!

You can view the training through registering here: www.opportunityelite.co.uk/OnlineSessions

Practise outside of Practice Practise outside of practice is crucial. Do you practice on your days off, when no-one is watching, days when you don't have matches or training? It is incredibly important to put in extra work. If you do more than others, you have a much better chance of progressing further in the game.

Top professionals will practise on their days off, focusing on being the best they can be. If you learn to develop this type of work ethic then you can go a long way in your game.

Remember though, it is important to rest if you are practising a lot. Take a day a week to relax and rejuvenate those achey legs, catch up on sleep and focus on your studies. It is very important to practise, but don't push yourself to the point where you can't play.

Reaching the next level in your game is always a challenge. For some, it may be to represent your school team, for others it may be to improve when playing with friends, some may have goals of playing professionally.

Have a think about your goals, and work hard to reach them.

To improve at your game, no matter what level you currently compete at, you need to focus upon the key areas.

Get more touches on the ball, practise on your days off, develop your confidence and believe in yourself. You can set your mind to anything, create a goal and work toward achieving it.

We will help you all the way.

Reach the Next Level

L.Â

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US:

www.opportunityelite.co.uk

See you next time

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