Ball Mastery - The Benefits of Unopposed Practice

BALL MASTERY The benefits of unopposed practice

A SNEAK PEEK THE NEW DASHER BY THE MACHINE CAR COMPANY

DECEMBER 2018 ISSUE NO. 12

Ball Mastery

Sports Performance

We look at Ball Mastery: is it beneficial and can it be practised in opposed and unopposed situations?

Build confidence in players, helping them take their game to new levels.

Contents Page 4 - Welcome Page 6 - Ball Mastery and Unopposed Practice Page 10 - Ten First Touch Ball Mastery Techniques Page 12 - Fifteen One v One Skills Page 15 - Training Product Review Page 17 - Developing Confidence Page 21 - What's more important?

Page 23 - Our Top Ball Mastery Videos Page 24 - Strength and Conditioning

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What this month brings...

Welcome back to our final magazine of the year. It's our twelfth edition of the player development magazine and we are delighted with the growth that we have seen.

Player development is our passion and there is nothing better than seeing players fulfil their potential. We hope that our previous twelve editions have inspired coaches and players alike, giving you that extra edge to your game.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that this month's edition gives you some interesting food for thought over the busy holiday period!

This month we take a look at Ball Mastery and its benefit to players. We sometimes hear coaches/players say that all training needs to be competitive and against other players. We take a look at that and provide our honest opinion on developing Ball Mastery skills and players' techniques.

Does all training have to be opposed, or is there a significant place for unopposed training?

We'll look into it!

In addition to this we'll hear from our Sports Performance psychologist, Trevor, discussing confidence within the game. Development is everything in football. We hope that we can be there to provide some interesting thoughts over the Christmas period.

Merry Christmas!!

Elliott Everson Owner, OpportunityElite

Ball Mastery and unopposed practice...

Does it work?

Ball Mastery gives players an increased number of touches on the ball, compared to match-based scenarios or games, but does its unopposed nature make the training relevant and beneficial to developing footballers?

It's a question that we have been asked, and heard asked, numerous times. I can understand the thought that players will develop most in game-based situations but that development, in those scenarios, comes when they are much more confident and developed with their grasp, and control, of the ball. How many times have you seen players, who aren't confident on the ball, let the game pass them by?

I think in England over the years we have seen players not confident on the ball at the very top level. We would reach the World Cup games and sit back, beginning to hit the ball long away from our own goal. We looked rushed - tactical plans seemed to be thrown out the window. Those players at the very, very top had practised game-based scenarios constantly: 11v11s, overload drills, attacking/defensive phases of play - all of which are all incredibly important.

But in order to successfully implement these tactics and phases of play you need to have the technical ability to be confident on the ball, in all manner of situations.

To get to this level, players need to practise individually in unopposed situations.

The more touches on the ball, the better. Players become more comfortable and more skilled on the ball with hours of unopposed practice, which can be taught by club coaches all over the world.

Unopposed practice is a fundamental aspect of player development. I read an interesting statistic recently regarding touches on the ball for each player in a Premier League fixture.

You would think the number would be quite high, within the hundreds, but actually the average is around 30-40 touches per player, per game.

This doesn't seem a lot at all!

If we always use match-based training, overlooking the unopposed area of development, then players will be getting significantly less touches on the ball.

In the early years of development, up until U11/12, it is highly important for players to take as many touches on the ball (in a technically correct manner) as possible. Unopposed training provides this greatly. Players, of all ages, need to feel comfortable and confident on the ball.

Coaching techniques in unopposed situations allow players to develop without the pressure of losing the ball in front of their team-mates, or affecting the team.

When do we use unopposed Ball Mastery training?

One of the most prevalent areas of unopposed training is Ball Mastery. We are huge believers in the practice of Ball Mastery, giving players a large number of touches on the ball, while developing their balance, co-ordination and close control.

The best time to get players working on their Ball Mastery is during the warm up, or just after as a technical practice.

The main requirement is that each player has a ball. It can be simple to start with some dribbling exercises, with conditions. Ask players to dribble using different areas of their feet only, giving them a feel for the ball. To start, use both feet, progressing to right only, then left, inside and outsides, and the soles of the feet.

This will get the players hundreds of touches and drastically increase their contact time on the ball.

As the players progress, you can use these ten introductory Ball Mastery practices...

Ten Introductory Ball Mastery Techniques

The benefit of Ball Mastery is that the player will focus purely on their technical ability and skill. While attempting the techniques they will be highly absorbed in what they are trying to accomplish.

There will always be times where some players fly through the techniques and seem to grasp it almost as soon as it has been explained. On the other hand there will be some who find it more difficult but the rest of the group won't be focusing on them. It gives players the freedom to practise their techniques without being concerned about losing the ball, or letting their team-mates down.

Most importantly, it allows them to make mistakes in a controlled environment.

Each mistake is one step closer to mastering the skill or technique.

Once players realise that mistakes are a positive then they will see huge technical development.

The unopposed practices will help players hugely, giving them the confidence and technical ability for opposed practices. One other area that unopposed practice is vital for is players' individual training. Players who are passionate about improving will spend time practising by themselves.

The Ball Mastery exercises will give players training ideas and techniques to practise in their own time. These players will most likely practise in their garden; all they need is a ball and a small space.

Providing these unopposed practices gives players huge opportunity to significantly develop their game, improving their chances of being successful in opposed practices, or matches.

10 First Touch Ball Mastery Techniques

Using Ball Mastery in Opposed Practices Building confidence, technical ability, co-ordination and close control will happen through regular unopposed practice. But, coaches are correct, players do need to practise in opposed situations and, in my opinion, this needs to happen regularly within training. The idea for coaches should be to help players get as close to mastering a Ball Mastery technique as they can. Then, we can start to build in the Ball Mastery into opposed situations, such as 1v1s, 2v2s and so on. Ball Mastery skills train players to move sharply on the ball, with control and deliberate movements. Over time, with enough practice, these players will perform skills, or certain foot movements, without thinking about it.

It's been practised so much that it becomes muscle memory.

Can we put players in the position where they are tested, and under pressure? If we do this we will see the confidence and ability on the ball that has been developed.

We are now using the Ball Mastery skills within opposed sessions.

On the next page are 15 1v1 one skills. These are unopposed, but as players become more confident you can build it into 1v1s to goal. Don't necessarily tell the player which skill to perform, but you will begin to see players who are making decisions on which skills to use, dependant on their speed of approach, balance, the opponent's position, etc.

Players will then become more confident as they have initially practised these skills unopposed and know that they can perform them.

The next step would be allowing the player to have the freedom to perform these skills in the situations where they think they would be best suited.

15 One v One Skills

Unopposed or Opposed Practices?

What's best?

To significantly help players develop, and become comfortable on the ball, it is best to use a combination of both opposed and unopposed practices within your training. If focus is placed too much upon unopposed training then the player may feel uncomfortable on the ball in the game. With too much focus on opposed practice the player will have then had less time to master the skills, leading to a lack of confidence in the opposed situations.

The best method is to use both. Begin the training session with unopposed practices, giving players time to work on their individual game, and master the techniques. Spending 15-20 minutes of unopposed work each session will greatly improve the player's technical ability.

After this, it is important to always have an opposed section, or ending, of the training session.

We all hear the question 'When are we playing a game?' regularly. We mustn't forget that players love matches more than anything.

Providing them with the technical training gives them the tools, knowledge, and confidence to enjoy the opposed practices, or matches, even more!

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Kickmaster: Training Product Review We're always on the lookout for new training ideas and tools to help coaches or players in their development. This month we bring our first look at training product reviews. There are some great pieces of equipment out there that we know can hugely help in the development of a player.

The Kickmaster close control trainer is a hand held training device that is great for getting more touches on the ball. Players place the ball inside the net which is attached to a retractable lead. As the player kicks the ball, the lead will extend, and then retract, to bring the ball back.

Kickmaster recommend it for close control and shooting practice and it definitely helps. The best use of it, in my opinion, is as a striking aid. Players can strike the ball, working on their technique, knowing that the ball will come back to them. This saves endless hours of collecting the ball, or broken plant pots in the garden!

This is a fantastic tool that is much underrated in developing players' striking techniques on their strong, and weak, foot. The ease of repetition that it brings is hugely important. The more practice the player takes with this, the better their technique will be. From first hand experience, this tool improves the strength and striking technique on the weak foot hugely.

Check out the next page to see our video of how you can use the Kickmaster to improve your weaker foot

Overall, the Kickmaster is a great training product, but not one you would use for team training sessions. It is, instead, best suited to the individual looking to improve their shooting and striking techniques, especially on the weak foot.

It is something that I used as a youngster and it significantly improved my left foot, giving me the confidence to strike the ball cleanly from a young age.

Check out the training video below, focusing on using the Kickmaster to improve striking on your weaker foot.

Striking on your Weaker Foot

Kickmaster Trainer, available here on Amazon

Confidence "The feeling, belief or trust in one's self and one's ability, quality or judgement to succeed at any particular moment�.

Trevor Gray, Sports Performance Coach and Psychotherapist, discusses one of the most important aspects of the game: confidence. www.trevorgraytherapy.co.uk www.psychotherapyforsport.co.uk

We've all seen it, a player who is immensely talented with fantastic ability, yet their confidence seems to have all but disappeared. It can look like they are a totally different player who is even struggling to run!Â

Some players can go through long periods of playing where they just seem to be flying high, with confidence in abundance. Others can got through periods of months on end, terrified of making another mistake.

Lacking confidence is one of the most worrying aspects of the game for a player and, unfortunately, a drop in confidence can come at any time.

Even the most simple of technical skills can be difficult when you are lacking in confidence and we all know how much better we play when we feel good about ourselves.

Alternatively, when you do have confidence it feels like you can achieve anything. It can finally feel like the player is achieving their true potential, destined to kick on to the next level of their game.

But, how do we develop and maintain confidence?

Is it something that we, as coaches and players, can have more control over?

Confidence is the opposite of fear So how can we improve it?

Your body language is key to making you feel more confident, and also giving others confidence in you. If you demonstrate a positive body language then there is more chance of others believing in you. As soon as you feel that others trust and have faith in your ability yourself, then you feel better.

It's a revolving cycle!

Your positive body language will have hugely positive effects on your confidence.

Players with great confidence Positive body language Involved in the game Call for the ball Want the ball Take risks - dribbles, runs Never give up - 100% effort Accept losing as a learning experience

Players with poor confidence Poor body language Hide from the game Don't call for the ball Don't want the ball Play safe Give up Blame others

Sometimes we think that confidence is all down to luck. Hopefully before your big game you might have it. But, this isn't case.

Consciously work on developing your confidence and improve your game significantly.

Do I have positive body language?

Do I want the ball?

Do I take risks and work 100%?

“The best way to play with confidence is to enjoy the moment and express yourself.”

Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur & England

“Health is your greatest possession. Happiness your greatest treasure.

But it is Confidence that is your greatest friend.”

Chinese proverb

Interested in our advertising opportunities?

For more information email info@opportunityelite.co.uk

What's more important first, power, or close control, on the weak foot?

Developing your weaker foot is a difficult thing to do. That is the reason why so many players don't use it. It's very hard to bring your weaker foot to a high level of ability and there are definitely days where players feel like it's not getting any better at all.

This is where players give up, and that is the worst thing that they can do. As a coach, we need to encourage players and allow them to make mistakes. As a player, we need to realise that development doesn't happen over night.

So where is the best place to start?

Do we focus on power in striking the ball, or maintaining close control and improving our first touch?

In the first instances of developing the weaker foot, players should focus on the basics of close control, passing over short distances, and dribbling. If players gain confidence in these areas then they will actually learn very quickly when striking the ball on their weaker foot.

The main importance is getting the basics right - do so and players will be able to progress further with the development of the weak foot.

The one thing that needs to be remembered is that the improvement in the weaker foot won't happen immediately. It might be that the player performs some fantastic technique on their weaker foot in training, then when in a game they strike the ball far wide of the goal with very little composure.

That happens to all, but you must remember that development is a long term process, not something that happens quickly.

Continual work on the weak foot will see brilliant results. There aren't many players out there that are able to demonstrate confidence on both feet. Start the training and practice early enough in the player's development and then they will never look at the weak foot being a problem.

Focus on the small touches, moving the ball exactly where the player wants it to go. As they progress with this, you can then incorporate the technical elements of striking the ball over distance.

Keep up with the hard work, it is definitely worth it!

OUR TOP BALL MASTERY VIDEOS

First Touch Techniques

The Both Footed Player

20 Turning Skills

10 Ball Mastery Skills

See more...

Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning coach, George Lyons, talks us through the box jump. Providing players with more power to jump higher, and keep opponents away from the ball.

This easy to use drill is perfect for team or individual training. Check it out below and give it a go!

The box jump is a very useful exercise, designed to give power and explosive action to the individual. Becoming more powerful in your legs will allow for increased acceleration, higher jumps and injury prevention.

Take a look at each step below...

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3 Jump upwards at a slight forward angle, landing on the box with the balls of your feet. Make sure your knees act as shock absorbers, bending them when you land to lessen the force through them.

Practice this and you will soon see development in your explosive power.