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?

David Beckham is the best free kick taker in the world because he spend hours practicing. Even with his talent, he stayed after practice and spend long hours taking free kicks. If you watch any of his games, you will see exactly what I mean. When the time comes for him to deliver, he does…he score goals and that’s what its all about.

That said, go ahead and enjoy

How:

* Four different colored disc with ball along side each is placed 20 yards from the goal
* One player with back to goal starts 5 yds from the ball
* On the coaches command, the player turns and strike the ball corresponding to colored disc that the coach holds up.
* Practice progresses to include a yellow and red cone inside the goal
* At the coaches command the player turns and shoot the ball corresponding to the cone that the coach holds up to the corner of the goal that the coach calls out.

see video:

Action:

What is the Cooper?
The cooper is a series of running drills design to test your fitness level. College coaches are always looking for players that are disciplined, strong, fast, and can practically run “forever.” If you think that you are that kind of player, then you need to make accomplishing the cooper one of your major goals. To accomplish the cooper, you must be able to:

1. Run 2 miles in under 12 minutes.
2. Rest for a minute and run 1 mile in under 6 minutes.
3. Rest for another couple minutes then run half a mile in under 3 minutes.
4. Rest again for a few minutes and run 1 lap around the track under 1 minute.

Overall, that’s a total of 3 3/4 miles in under 22 minutes. To prepare yourself, all you will need to do is be able to run all 3 3/4 miles non-stop for the allotted time. If you can do that, then mission accomplished. On tryout day, all you have to do is go out and do it again.

The earlier you condition your body to accomplish the “cooper, ” the better will be your chances of getting recruited. What do I mean by that? Well, if you get your body in shape, the only thing left for you to do is get your skills up to par. Listen to your coach and follow directions. If do you do these things, then you should see your game soaring to new heights and everyone will notice, even the scouts. Good luck

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Don’t expect to be good at the beginning. Just like everything else, you will need to work at it to become really good. Over time you will definitely see results.

See this series of footwork in the video below:

Summary
For each drill, do as many reps as possible until you get really comfortable with the drill.

1. Drill #1 – simply pull the ball across your body on the ground in front of you with each foot as demonstrated.

2. Drill #2 – Take turn gently pushing the ball forward with the top of each foot, then stop it with the bottom of the foot as demonstrated.

3. Drill #3 – Dribble the ball with the inside of both feet by bouncing it from one foot to the next. Quickly pull pull the ball across your body, on the ground, in front of you with alternate foot as demonstrated.

4. Drill #4 – Use the left foot to pull the ball back with the bottom of your feet, then use the inside part of the foot to move the ball to the right. Repeat the pull, then use the outside part of the foot to move the ball to the left.

Repeat the drill with the right foot – this means that the inside part of the foot you will move the ball to the left and with the outside part you will move it to the left. (see demonstration)

5. Repeat drill#5, but this time instead of moving the ball to the left or right with the inside and outside part of each foot, move the ball around in a circle in front of you as demonstrated.

6. Drill #6, Use the inside of the left foot to move the ball to the right of the cone and then quickly back to the left with the outside of the same foot and explode past the cone as demonstrated. Repeat with the right foot.

7. Drill #7, Use the outside of the left foot to move the ball to the left of the cone and then quickly back to the right with the inside of the same foot and explode past the cone as demonstrated. Repeat with the right foot.

8. Drill#8, dribble the ball towards the cone, step over it twice, then quickly move the ball to the left or right of the cone with outside of the foot as demonstrated. You must explode out of the motion as you move past the cone as demonstrated

9. Drill #9, the ball back and forth toward two cones placed about 3 yards apart. Once you reach the cone, quickly turn the ball back 180 degrees with the outside of the foot. Dribble towards the cone at the opposite end of the the 3 yards and repeat the process as demonstrated.

10. Drill #10 – With your back towards the defender, turn the ball quickly to the left or right and move quickly with it past the defender as it is passed to you by another player as demonstrated.

See Video demonstration

Lateral movement
For this drill we set up a series of 5 – 10 stakes, each players jog up to the stakes then take turn weaving in and out between the stakes while maintaining balance. It is important that each player maintain a good form: slightly bending the knees, keeping the upper body erect, and moving as quickly as possible on the toes from side to side in between the stakes.

Forward and backward Movements
Immediately after completing the lateral movement, each player jog over the single cone placed on the ground. While maintaining the same form that was used in the lateral movement, each player will move around the cone: first forward, then backwards.

Jumping
Players will then jog over to four pairs of cones placed in a line about one meter apart with a stick on top of each pair of cone. They will then take turn jumping over each stick in one smooth continuous motion until they have scaled all four pairs of cones.

Repeat the process five times.

Drink Drink Drink
I cannot stress enough how important it is to drink lots of fluid while playing soccer. Not just any kind of fluid, but the right kind.

When you are running up and down the field, you are using up a lot of energy. At the same time, your body temperature is rising. The body will try to cool down by sweating. It is therefore very important that you replace the fluid loss during sweating with the proper type of fluids. If you do not consume enough fluid, you are at risk of become dehydrated and developing heat related injuries – muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke.

How Much Water Should You Drink?
The game condition will dictate just how much water you drink. On extremely hot days, you will want to consume much more than on moderately hot days. The objective is to put back enough water in your system to replace that which you lost. A good rule of thumb is to drink water whenever possible. This means drink a glass of water with your pre-game meal, drink during pre-game warm-ups, take a sip when you come out of games, and sip while you are sitting on the bench.

Always have extra water on hand so that you can drink at all times. No caffeine please. Stay away from sodas as well. Gatorade is fine since it puts back some of the body’s electrolytes that’s lost while playing. Drink even if you are not thirsty. Don’t worry about drinking too much water. What the body does not need it will simply get rid of.

C. Ronaldo Kaka Leonel Messi
(Man. U.) (AC Milan) (Barcelonia)
Three of the best in the business