The Dangers of Practice

Too many coaches preach practice, Practice, PRACTICE!

You may be thinking, “Well how else is my kid going to get better?” But hear me out.

What I’m talking about is the standard practice regimen you see 99.5% of the time. I call it the S-R-K practice.

Stretch- Run – Kick

Now if your team is full of great athletes, you can probably get away with this regimen. But if you’ve even got one struggling player you’ve got to remember you are only as strong as your weakest link.

What happens with the S-R-K practice regimen is frustration, lack of focus, burnout and sometimes even increased injury.

We all know that games are not played at the same speed as practice. So in my opinion this form of practice can be dangerous.

Coaches that implement stretching they learned in grade school, long slow jogging around the fields, and one person at a time kicking shots always neglect two key areas of the game.

Mind and Body. The connection between these two areas is critical to building strong, focused, creative, and passionate soccer players.

Want proof?

Ask any pro soccer player if he/she does strength training? Then ask that same pro what they focus on while they train?

Now ask your child the same two questions.

I’m willing to bet the answers will be night and day.

Believe me, my goal is get the best performance on the field from your kids. I want your child to realize their true potential. That is exactly why I’ve developed a system of training that focuses on strengthening the mind and body simultaneously.

I know a 9 year old girl who suffered from knee injuries for over a year. The darn thing just kept popping out during games. When it did, she’d have to take 1-3 weeks off to recover.

Yet after 2 weeks of training with me her knee was stronger than ever. And during her 10 months in the program – her knee NEVER popped out once.

How can this be?

She was your typical student of S-R-K. Practicing without a purpose, doing the wrong exercises and skills, just kicking the ball toward the goal.

But after 2 weeks with me she had doubled her strength, doubled her kicking power and scored two goals in one game. That had never happened before.

If you want your child to gain focus, strength, and skill call me for details on my next training session. (909) 610-0793.

Get Great Ball Control in Under 1 Minute

“Without the ball – YOU can’t win!” – Johan Cruijff

Cruijff is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. So when he makes a statement like that I listen.

When I read his quote I asked myself, “What does he mean?” Here’ is what I came up with.

“Ball control is the key”. You and I both know, if you don’t have control of the ball, the other team is sprinting down field putting that ball in the back of your net.

Why do kids lose the ball?

Because they get nervous, afraid, or excited and lose focus. So in order to flip those emotions upside down I teach my students two skills. These two skills are guaranteed to increase focus and confidence so your child can hold on to the ball even in the toughest of situations.

Juggling

Inside/Outside

I strongly urge every one of the players I train to implement the following training schedule at home.

Get up in the morning 5 minutes early.

Take 3 deep cleansing breaths.

Then grab your soccer ball and juggle as many times as you can for 1 minute.

Write down how many you did.

Repeat this same process immediately before you go to bed. (Only this time try and beat the number you did in the morning.)

If a minute is too long – how about 30 seconds?

You may not realize it but practicing 1 minute in the morning and 1 minute at night is like getting 12 extra practices a year.

So, can you dramatically improve your ball control with just one minute of juggling?

The answer is – You BET!

And the great news is when you conquer one minute of juggling you’ll transform your regular practice time into fun time. Use this method and I assure you your ball control will improve leaps and bounds.

Practice for excellence,

Coach Nolan

PS I’m in the process of putting together a video that shows exactly how to perform the “Inside/Outside” skill. When I get it completed I’ll send you the link. Until then keep practicing.