How to Improve Your Speed of Play in Soccer

Though each soccer player has their own style, one thing every high-level player has to do is play fast. It’s a distinguishing factor of all the greats. Before any pro player gets the ball, they immediately know what they want to do with it, whether it’s passing, shooting, attacking a defender, etc. 

High-level players are constantly moving and taking action, instead of pausing and thinking, “What should I do now?”.  The faster you play, the harder it is for your opponent to keep up. 

How do you play faster? The answer is surprisingly simple: think faster.

Thinking Like a High-Level Player

High-level soccer players have high-level soccer IQs. This allows them to skip the thinking part of what to do next and just react – it’s like the difference between learning a language and being fluent. 

Are they 100% sure this is the right decision? No, but it’s certainly an educated guess. 

And we’re not just talking about when they have the ball. 

High-level players also use their soccer IQs to consistently anticipate where the opportunity – or threat –  will end up next. This prevents them from just standing still, with no idea as to which direction they should move. Instead, they anticipate how a situation will unfold, and then put themselves in an advantageous position on the field based on the most probable outcome. 

The Technical Side of Playing Quickly

Your technical ability to play quickly is the aspect most players focus on. Being able to comfortably control a ball played from 30 yards allows you to not focus on receiving the ball but rather what comes next. 

Receiving the ball with all parts of your body is something you should practice as it takes a burden off of you mentally so that you can focus on what you’re doing next. 

And that’s the key where most good players get stuck – they focus on the technical side which carries them pretty far in youth soccer. But they don’t work on the quick decision-making on what to do next. Too often, they get in their head, struggle with confidence, and don’t move forward any more. 

This is the point where we work with our mentees to blow through this obstacle. With a high level of resilience, an athlete won’t worry about mistakes nor struggle with decision-making – they’ll trust themselves and just move forward. They’ll be able to play at a high mental speed and not be limited by their technical and physical speed. 

The Easiest Way to Increase Your Decision-Making Speed 

Being a student of the game is how you gain fluency where you don’t have to stop and think about what the next action is, you can just do it. And just like learning a language, the more you practice – and make mistakes – the quicker you’ll learn. 

The good news is that becoming a student of the game is much easier than it ever has been before. It’s why we created BGTV, a massive library of professional footage organized by position. Each clip features a professional player making a smart decision with analysis from professionals explaining what was going on in the player’s mind in that moment. It’s the perfect way to grow your soccer IQ and master essential techniques.

Ready to check out BGTV? Use code FREEMONTH1 to get your first month free!