8 Reasons Why You Should Invest Time in Soccer Ball Mastery
These are the top 3 questions that I get every single week…
- Ric, how do I become a professional footballer?
- If I train 10,000 hours, will I become a professional footballer?
- How many hours do I have to train per day if I want to become a pro
No matter how many times I respond, I always come back with the same answer…
“There is no one way. There is no secret or magic power needed to become a professional footballer. However, I know that if you work hard, maintain unflinching self-discipline and invest consistent commitment toward excellence, you will get your opportunity.”
I’m not certain why I continually get the same 3 questions, but I can point toward a couple of key issues…
Most obvious is that most people just want an easy answer or a quick fix, but unfortunately that doesn’t exist.
Being a professional footballer myself, having friends who are professionals and interviewing many pros on my Podcast; I realize that the most important attribute is to be obsessed with achieving greatness, to be addicted to improving every single day.
Taking Your Opportunity:
If you focus on improving one aspect of your game each day (a ball mastery session, a hard legs session, a yoga session), and you follow the improvement path consistently, over a long period of time, good things will happen.
I’m not saying that it’ll automatically make you a professional, but I’m certain you’ll a become a better overall soccer player and athlete…
So when the opportunity comes, you’ll be ready!
Along with putting in the work every single day, you also need to make sure that you are taking care of and listening to your body.
Trust me, I’m a big fan of working at a high intensity, but it is also important to know when it is time to take your foot off the gas pedal.
Rest, relaxation and being able to tune into the mental side of the game is one of the key pieces of the “puzzle.”
How to Not Only Work Hard, But to Work Smart
If you feel like you’re struggling to find an ideal balance, you have two options:
- You can either become obsessed with learning the science of anatomy and the movement of the human body and keeping the mindset of
“I can never know enough.”
OR, maybe a more reasonable approach…
- Hire a coach. Hire a coach who has knowledge on all the aspects of your game that you believe need improvement. Go with a coach who’s been in your shoes… Someone who you want to emulate, someone you trust and someone who you believe recognizes your unique talents and skills.
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Now that we’ve covered that, let’s dive into the main subject of the article, and it’s probably why you clicked on it in the first place…
I want to discuss why ball mastery is so important, and becoming a master of the ball should be one of your main goals when striving to become a professional footballer.
First of all, the majority of your training should be spent with the ball.
No doubt, it’s certainly valuable to spend quality time in the gym to make yourself better physically and reduce your risk of injury. But if you want to be a professional footballer, what’s the use of being fast, strong and explosive if you don’t know how to play with and control the ball.
Soccer matches are won and lost with the ball. Putting the soccer ball in the oppositions’ net is how you win games, so why wouldn’t you want to spend as much time as possible becoming a master of the soccer ball.
Based on my experience, I know, the more time you spend with the ball, the better you will become, and increase your chances of becoming a professional.
What is Ball Mastery?
Ball Mastery is the practice and repetition of soccer/football technical drills that can be done in a small space, which will help the player transition into bigger space and more game realistic drills.
Ball Mastery allows the the player to get hundreds of touches on the ball in a short amount of time, and be done anywhere that you have a little bit of space.
When ball mastery is done in a tight space, it helps condition the player to keep the ball close to their feet which will develop a love and “closeness” to the ball, which can transition nicely into gameplay. If a player is calmer and more confident on the ball, they will be more likely to retain possession for their team.
Ball Mastery challenges the player to manipulate and control the ball with many different surfaces and parts of their feet. This allows the player to become more comfortable and confident on the ball.
When you (as a player) are more confident and comfortable on the ball, you will enjoy the game more because you will be able to express yourself in many different ways. Having fun is why we all started playing anyway, am I right?!
My top reasons why you must be committed to train with the ball on a daily basis..
The Importance of Ball Mastery:
- Confidence & Comfort on the Ball
These two attributes are synergistic, they go hand-in-hand.
The more comfortable and calm you are on the ball, the better you’ll be in control of your game and as a soccer player.
The more comfort you have with the ball; the more confident you will be when training and game time comes!
2. You want to be able to manipulate the ball with all surfaces of your foot:
The inside, outside, sole, toes and heel.
When you do this, you will eliminate fear when the ball comes to you in a match situation.
3. Ultimately, as a player, your goal should be to change games.
If you develop the ability to change games, you’ll excel in the game of football.
4. Every team will want you!
5. When you reach the point of being able to do whatever you want with the ball, you will have more fun playing the game.
If you think about why you started playing this great game in the first place; It’s because of the enormous fun you have playing it, especially when you’re playing well.
If you’re not loving the joyful energy of this game, you’ve probably chosen the wrong sport.
Naturally Nervous before Games:
6. Do you find yourself nervous before games?
On average, I get 3 messages daily from players about how to calm “their nerves” before their soccer match.
They tell me that they feel like they go into the game scared and lacking inner confidence
I always tell them; the most important answer to this challenge, is to train on your own.
If you train on your own and put time in outside of team training, and you have a goal of becoming a master of the soccer ball, you will ultimately become more confident, especially when game time comes around.
7. Not only will you have more time with the ball than your teammates (metric standpoint) and opponents, but when game time comes you will know (mentally) that you put more work in than the player you’re up against!
8. When you step onto the field and cross that white line, YOU’LL have the earned the confidence, knowing that you invested in the required work!
Let’s do the Math:
If you train 30 minutes per day with the ball in addition to team training, you’re committing to investing:
-120 minutes per week.
-480 minutes per month
&
-24,960 extra minutes per year of training with the ball.
If you don’t know where to get started with becoming a master of the soccer ball, I suggest a couple of programs to help you:
- 100 Ball Mastery Drills that You Can Do Indoors
- A Sample Training Session from the RicFit Ball Mastery Program:
Week 1, Day 2:
Theme: In the Box Dribbling
2 Sets of Each Drill
The Setup:
-Grab yourself 4 markers (cones, socks, shoes, whatever you have)
-Create yourself a 10 x 10 box (use your feet to measure-walk 10 steps each direction)
-These will be your boundaries to work within.
Directions:
-Perform each drill one by one, before moving onto the next drill.
Set 1:
-Work for a total of 20 reps working slowly making sure to get flow and fluidity within the drill. If the drill is only single foot, make sure to do 10 reps with each foot.
REST 30 SECONDS
Set 2:
-Set your timer for 30 seconds. Work as quickly as you can while making sure to focus on technique and smoothness.
REST 45 SECONDS. MOVE ONTO NEXT BALL MASTERY DRILL.
Your Exercises:
2. Pull Behind Leg- Double Outside Touch
3. Pull Behind-Inside-Outside Touch
7. Double Outside Touch- Cruyff
8. Cruyff Inside-Outside Touch
12. Single Foot: Outside-Outside-Inside
Lastly, if you want something super-specific, and something that will hold you accountable and help you get better over time, check this out..
- The RicFit Ball Mastery Program
-This is a 4-week Ball Program that will help you become a master of the soccer ball!
-In this program, you get 4 training sessions that you need get done 4 days per week.
-All of the exercises are shown in real-time and slo-mo.
-Each week gets progressively harder. As we both know, whether you are in the gym or on the field, the way to get better is through a concept called progressive overload.
-This means progressing slightly each and every week to improve yourself at a gradual pace without doing too much and burning yourself.
-In a way, it is the best method to working smart.
Here is the link:
-Use Coupon Code BEATCORONA50 to get 50% off on your order.
Wrapping It Up:
As we both know, if you really want to succeed in the game and become a professional, you have to put extra time in on your own when NOBODY is watching!
If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Stay healthy and stay well!
Your Boi,
Ric