Practice, Practice, Practice….

One of my “new” players asked me the other day, “Hey coach Holt, how long should I practice to perfect my dribbling skill?” “As long as it takes,” I responded, “and that may be hours upon hours… if you really want to be good.”

Why did I say that? Well first of all, I want him to get it in his head that there is no shortcut to success. He is going to have to work his “butt” off to become good…And the point is he can never practice enough. The magnitude of his skill level will depend directly upon to the amount of time he spends practicing to develop it…and that goes for everyone, no matter how talented you think you are…period…end of story! There is no way around it…and definitely no shortcuts. You have got to put your time in. Your success will depend on whether or not you put in that 99% perspiration combined with that 1% inspiration…which I call talent.

Now here’s another point, “practice makes perfect.” yea, yea, yea, I know you’ve heard it before but did you really “hear it the first time?” I believe that this is my second time saying it on this blog and guess what? I still have hundreds more to go… I will not stop until it sinks in. So get out your soccer boots, and go and practice that dribbling, juggling, ball controlling, shooting, defending move, until you have mastered it…

Want to see what I mean take a look at this little Brazilian guy.

Do you think he was born like this? Of course not. He practiced for hours. I know this kid cannot be more than about 12 years old…yet he has gotten the practice message. No wonder Brazil is always producing top class players and are consistently at the top of the soccer(football) world. They understand the concept of practice, practice, practice. And in the midst of their practice, they make their imagination run wild. Yes, that’s it, there is no limit to the tricks that you can create in soccer. As you practice and practice, there will come a time when you will realize that you are becoming a master of the whatever skill you practice, your confidence will grow, and you will begin to try new tricks…and who knows you may just be able to come up with something so sublime that one cannot help but notice…I am talking about an original trick…all yours…created by you.

It’s okay to want to try and master the Okocha, Revilino, Puskas, Beckham, Maradona, etc…, and the list goes on…but how about getting so good that you can create your own?