How to Pick Soccer Cleats that Fit Your Needs

When choosing soccer cleats, it is important to consider your needs. Playing conditions, your skill level, and personal preferences all come into play.

The 2010 world cup focused the world’s attention on soccer training and the diversity of playing environments. Choosing new soccer cleats means being aware of how you play and where you play and buy the best soccer cleats for your needs. Know what you need. You may want to invest in a variety of cleats to ensure you are prepared for all playing opportunities.

Cheap soccer cleats will most likely be of the molded type without detachable studs. This is a general purpose shoe meant for casual general purpose use in a variety of playing conditions. Having a pair of cheap cleat for a quick game under ideal conditions may make sense for you.

If you’re playing at a level to rival cup soccer, you will want to consider soccer cleats with detachable studs. Studs can be configured for wet mushy conditions, or hard packed dry earth. Your feet will thank you for the extra attention to detail and your game will reflect your extra effort. The best cleats will mold to your feet and improve your performance on the field.

Indoor Soccer

Remember that indoor soccer is a different case and as such requires indoor soccer shoes. You might get by with a pair of old running shoes or even tennis shoes, but a smart player is going to want the best equipment for the environment. Investing in indoor cleats will be well worth the money if this is the field you face on a regular basis.

Improving Your Ball Dribbling Skills

Use these last few weeks of summer to train your soccer handling skills. You know the drill. Set up a few cones and have at it. Slow and steady at first to let your muscle memory kick in, then full speed.

Here are a few tips on improving your dribbling skills:

• Practice dribbling with a smaller size soccer ball. You will learn to adjust to the smaller ball so that when you are dribbling a full size soccer ball it will seem much easier.
• Use both sides of your foot. Outside, inside, outside, inside -- like a hockey player's stick.
• Touch the soccer ball with every step. By touching the ball successively as you step, the ball will naturally become part of your gait, creating both good control and increasing your dribbling speed with the ball.
• Change pace often. Even if you’re not extremely fast you can still beat someone on the dribble by drawing them in with a slow dribble then bursting into high speed.
• Keep your eyes raised to about the height of where your fingertips would be if you extended your arm in front of you. This will allow you to see the ball but also keep track of opposing players and open teammates.
• Practice with your weak foot. On your own time, take a soccer ball and roll it back and forth with your weaker foot, allowing it to naturally develop more control.
• Use your body to protect the soccer ball. Shield the ball with your body when a defender gets close. Try to keep the ball on the foot that is furthest from the defender and your body protects the ball.

Soccer's Tricky Question

I stumbled upon this neat video the other day, and I couldn't help but wonder... how important is it to be able to do fancy soccer tricks like this in real life soccer situations?

The answer: Not very.

The truth is that you should develop your handling skills. You should develop your dribbling technique. You should develop your ability to thwart oncoming defenders. This is all integral to the game of soccer. You need these aspects of your game to be effective. But they should result from a regimen of training that naturally develops all of your soccer abilities.

It seems that with the rise of the soccer "superstar" -- players such as Zlatan, Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho -- too much emphasis is put on the ability to do "tricks."

Trix are for kids. And tricks, well, tricks are for commercials... and YouTube videos.

But if you were to try out one of these feats of fancy footwork, you'd better make sure you deliver. Otherwise you'll not only look like a show-off, you might cause your team to miss out on a scoring opportunity. Or worse, you might lose the ball and cause your team to get scored on.

The important thing to note is that if you first develop the ability to manipulate the ball to do what you want it to do, these fun tricks will come naturally. On the field of play, they will happen as the result of your ability -- NOT as the result of a pre-planned gimmick.

Remember, with great skill comes great responsibility.

How to choose a college?

This is a question that I get asked A LOT! What is the best way to choose a college for my son/daughter and what are we looking for? Well, I am going to map it out to you in 10 simple steps (although there are certainly a lot more thank 10 things, but this is a good start). The hard part is that you are the ones that actually have to follow through with them. Here they are in order:

1) Figure out how far away you would like to be from Mom & Dad. I know this sounds
funny, but do you want them to be very close, far/far away or close enough that you can
travel to see them on a weekend and do your laundry/get a meal, etc. Once you figure
out the distance you are willing to be away from home, get a map and draw a circle
marking that distance around your town.
2) Find out all the colleges/universities within that distance and make a list
3) Think about your potential major and start to do some research on this list of schools. If
that major is not offered you can cross that school off your list
4) Think about the school size you would like to be at. If you see yourself at a BIG school,
then go through and start crossing out all the small schools or vice versa.
5) Do you want to be in a city? Small town? Again, figure this out and start crossing out
schools that don’t match your criteria.
6) Once you have a general list of schools that match your academics, size, etc. that you are
looking for in a school, NOW you can start looking at the soccer programs. Are you
interested in Division I, II, III, NAIA, NJCAA. If you are unsure as to what level you
would be best suited for, go see them play in person!
7) Now you should have a much smaller list of schools that really match your criteria…At
this point, start mailing/emailing your resume/cover letter to the college coaches on your
list of schools expressing your interest in their institution and soccer program.
8) DO NOT be alarmed if you do not hear anything in return…keep trying and be
persistent! Depending on your year in high school, the coach might not be able to
respond to you. Remember, you are trying to recruit them just as much as they are
trying to recruit you!
9) Take unofficial and official visits to schools to get to know the school, campus,
players,coaches, etc. Here is a hint: DO NOT make a decision based on a coach. Get to
know the players as they are the people you will be living with for 4 years, not the coach!
Plus, there is NO guarantee that the coach will be there when you arrive on campus your
freshman year.
10) Now it is decision time…you have all the information you need to make a good, educated
decision.

This is the most important decision that you will make during your whole life and everything you do from here on will be determined by where you go to college. So if this is the case, don’t you want to have all the information that you can to make a good decision? It sounds extremely daunting and yes, it can be…but embrace it and enjoy the process! Take your time doing so and do not let anyone push you into making a decision…if a college coach is really pushing you…do you really want to play for someone like that anyway?

Goalkeeper Training Mentality

Mentality…that is a word that is used a lot. But, do we really know what it means? For me, mentality is a state of mind, a conscious decision to focus and work in order to be competitive. What if a goalkeeper does not have a good training mentality? Another words, they do not make the conscious decision to focus on the task at hand and do not care about making mistakes in training? Typically, that spells out a scenario where they will concede bad goal after bad goal not only in training, but in matches! For our mentality can not be like a light switch that we turn on and off. It is a state of mind that we have, a desire to be perfect. Goalkeepers always have to be switched on or else they fail.

Being “perfect” is the key word in our mentality. As a goalkeeper, you are always striving for perfection. Anything less than perfection in our business often leads to failure. Now with saying that, we also realize that we are not always going to be perfect, but we must possess a mentality that strives for perfection. Which leads us to another angle of the mentality question…what is our mentality like when we do make a mistake or concede a goal? What do we do then? Simply stated, goalkeepers must have a very short term memory. The mental ability to forget a mistake and move on…recognize the mistake and deal with the next situation and deal with it perfectly. This is the mark of a top-level goalkeeper.

I have seen goalkeeper after goalkeeper that are technically brilliant in training but just do not seem to make it at the next level. But then you see an average player that is so mentally focused that they are always playing in the top teams, leagues, ODP, etc. Why is this? Is it a coincidence? Absolutely not! You see it in all sports, players who are good players (not great players) that turn into being dominant. This is typically because of their training mentality and what they mentally bring into their training on a daily basis. The mind is a very powerful thing that we need to tap into to become a great player. It takes a very strong willed person to be a goalkeeper and one who is not afraid of failure, risk and most of all, pressure!

How can we increase our mentality? I would start slow and begin by putting pressure on yourself in training on a regular basis. For example: if you are doing a handling session and are taking 10 repetitions, give yourself a punishment (pushups/situps) if you drop 1 out of 10 balls or more. Little things like this that will begin to get your mind thinking about keeping things clean and sharp. From there you can do the same with conceding goals in training. The key is that you want yourself to constantly be trying to be perfect. It is ok to be upset when you fail…we want that! If you do not get upset at yourself, do you really care about making mistakes and conceding goals? If you do not care, you will most likely not be a top level goalkeeper. But, we need to really harness this frustration of making mistakes and keep it internal. You do not want your opponent to see you too frustrated. Simply brush it off and go on to the next situation. Goalkeepers need a very short term memory and then a willingness to deal with the next situation confidently.

Todd Hoffard
National Director
ONE on ONE Soccer

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THE BEST!

The ultimate goal of any young player is to play for his/her national team and represent their country. But, what gets us there? What are the national team programs looking for in players and what do I need to do to be noticed? Yes, obviously I must be technically gifted and understand the game tactically, but where does this ability stem from? How do I get from the U6 player to the player on the U16 National Team or Regional ODP Team for example? Well, the amount and quality of training/competition that is done from the days of the U6 player to the older ages is what are the keys to a good player.

To be the best soccer player and achieve a lot of success in the game you need a couple different elements. First and foremost, you need to have the proper ATTITUDE. You must really ask yourself, do I really want this? What are the goals of the player? If getting to the national team levels are the goal, then there is a particular attitude that is required. Players that truly love the game and have lofty goals are the players that do not needthe motivation to work hard. Typically those players are constantly searching for situations where they can put themselves into the fire. Challenging themselves daily and having the inner power and desire to play just for the pure love of the game. It is that internal motivation that you truly want to be the best player that you can be because you absolutely love it! A strong attitude for the game will also lead you down the path of doing whatever it takes to succeed on the field and doing your job well.

Second, you must have a strong COMMITMENT to succeed. This means that you must dedicate yourself to daily training at the highest level you can find. The Tuesday, Thursday training and game on Saturday approach will NOT get you to the higher levels of the game by any stretch. It must be a daily commitment on your part to put yourself in a situation where you are receiving quality training and competitive matches. Most times as the young player though this is not just a commitment of the individual but to the parents and family as well. It might take Mom or Dad driving you several hours to and from training and matches on a regular basis to give you the best opportunity to grow as a player. If this is the case, then so be it if you truly want to be the best. If you really want something bad enough you will need to fight and battle for it, it just won't happen because you want it to happen.

Third, you must SACRIFICE certain things. You will need to eat, live and breathe the game in order to be the best. This might mean being away from family/friends due to traveling with a team for training/matches or not being able to do certain things in general due to your commitment to your goals as a player. This is often the most difficult element to all of this because it really tests your commitment level and attitude. Am I willing to sacrifice not going to the school dance on Friday due to a tournament this weekend? Am I committed enough to my development to sacrifice going to the dance because I really love playing the game that much? These are the questions that you will need to ask yourself all the time in order to become the player that you desire to be.

The combination of all three of these elements is what typically creates a national team level player. Along with these three elements, the game today also places several demands on players. Whether it is at the international or recreational levels, the game today is all about SPEED! How quickly can you solve problems on the playing field and adapt or adjust to the situation. The game not only demands physical speed but technical speed as well. How quickly can you get the ball under control, make a decision and do something positive with it? This is the technical speed that is needed as well as the physical speed which is how fast can you get from point A to point B.

Can you be lacking in one area of the game and still play at a high level? Yes, you certainly can and an excellent example of that is Frankie Heyduk. To watch Frankie in a technical training session you might think, this guy lacks the polish of his teammates with the ball at his feet, but, at the World Cup in 2002 we could not afford to NOT have him on the field because of the other elements that he brought to the game. He is so committed to doing his job and is willing to sacrifice himself for the better of the team. His pure speed, athleticism and work ethic was something that makes up for his lack of pure technical ability. And because of that he was one of our better performers last summer. So, you don't necessarily need the pure technical skills, but you will need to make up for it somehow.

Do you feel that you possess these different qualities and are getting overlooked at the club or ODP levels? If this is the case, take it upon yourself and find out what else you need to do to get you where you want to be. Ask your club coaches, ODP coaches or the staff at ONE on ONE Soccerâ for help in getting noticed. If you have what it takes the ODP and national team programs will find you! Just do your part and play in situations that you keep asking yourself, what do I need to do to survive at this level?

By Glenn Myernick
Former US World Cup Team Asst. Coach

Pre-Game Warmup for the Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper: the most important player on the soccer field at all times, and most of the time it is the position that is not properly warmed up during pre-match activities. Why? Because, neither the coaches or the player or both, know how to do it properly…it is that simple.

How many times do you see youth soccer pre-game warm-ups that consist of two lines that dribble in and shoot at the goalkeeper? Who is this warming up? The goalkeeper? Well, if you think it is “helping” the goalkeeper, you are gravely mistaken.

The internal makeup of a goalkeeper is very unique. Not only does a quality goalkeeper need a strong technical side, but more importantly they need to have a very strong mind. Goalkeepers are either the “hero or the goat” and nothing else. It takes a very unique individual to be able to handle this. “Practice DOES NOT make perfect, PERFECT practice makes perfect.” You make a mistake as a goalkeeper and more than likely you concede a goal, which can mean a potential loss.

So, a proper warm-up is critical for his/her success in the match. Goalkeepers need to prepare their technical side, which will increase their confidence going into the match. Go back to the scenario where players dribble in and shoot on goal over and over again. What if most of the shots don’t even hit the target? OR, what if most of the shots go in the goal? Both of these questions can be answered the same…the goalkeeper is destined for disaster! If the goalkeeper does not get quality service during warm-up, he/she is not properly prepared which leads to potential mistakes, and mistakes lead to conceding goals! If all the shots go in during this activity? What do you think this does to the mentality of the goalkeeper that is only minutes away from the opening whistle? Confidence and perfection are key attributes for a goalkeeper and this type of activity doesn’t help their mentality…

To properly warm-up for a match, the pre-game preparation actually begins days before. First we must eat properly leading up to a match. The night before it is always wise to use mental imagery to visualize the match before it is actually played. Imagine yourself playing the game and performing PERFECTLY! Everything that you do is correct and confident…this mental approach stimulates our muscle memory to perform with perfection, just like the way we do in training.

Once we get to the field, we need to begin slowly with a nice jog and stretch. As we begin to get a stretch we can begin to toss the ball around with a coach or other goalkeeper. This begins to get our upper body ready to move. Simple basic catching of the ball with “PERFECT” technique (with diamond and fingertips on top of ball….NO “W” catch!!) is the easiest place to start. By adding a little footwork we can begin to further get our legs and upper body working together. As we progress, we need to prepare our body to hit the ground. Starting out with some simple, collapsed diving for low and mid level balls should do this. Service for this type of activity should be from out of a partner/coaches hands before ever progressing to someone striking a ball. Again, footwork can then be added into this type of collapsed diving as the goalkeeper begins to break a sweat. It is also wise to do these exercises at different angles in the goal to get the goalkeeper “feeling” his goalmouth…

Catching of high balls is essential as well. Service that is tossed up to catch can be done prior to balls crossed from the flanks by a field player or coach. Somewhere during the warm-up the goalkeeper also needs to kick a couple balls from the ground (goal kicks) and also out of their hands (punts/drop kicks) too. (YES, goalkeepers should take ALL goal kicks!!) By now the goalkeeper should have a nice sweat on them and be feeling quite good and confident. Now and only now, can a goalkeeper begin to face some shots! Now, the important thing is to have a couple forwards begin to shoot on target…again, ON TARGET! They begin by not trying to score. We want the goalkeeper to begin seeing “live” shots from players running onto the ball. These players should not be hitting still balls; they should be striking moving balls. Players try to hit the goalkeeper for two reasons 1) continue to give the goalkeeper confidence 2) works on the forwards accuracy and warming up of their leg to hit the target.

After this is done for a couple reps, the players can begin to make the goalkeeper work to make saves while still hitting the ball on target. Players should now begin to play some give and go’s or beat a player before getting off a shot…now being only minutes away from the match the goalkeeper needs to begin to see more “live” and “realistic” situations. Once the goalkeeper feels completely warm and is CONFIDENT, then and only then are they ready for the game.

In short, the goalkeeper needs to warm up every aspect of goalkeeping during his/her warm-up: throwing, basic catching, footwork, kicking, collapsed diving, crosses, shots, etc. If you potentially might see it in a match, you need to have done it in your warm-up. But, the key is simply this…CONFIDENCE in your warm-up activity. Gradually prepare your body and mind for the match by taking your time and doing this PERFECTLY…

By Todd Hoffard
National Director