The Benefits of Unopposed Ball Mastery

Ball Mastery andunopposed 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

10 First Touch BallMastery 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.