How to Increase Your Speed of Play in Soccer

As you move up levels in soccer, the first thing you see is that the speed of the game is higher. Defenders press the ball quicker, center attacking mids always take their first touch into space, strikers time their runs perfectly. It’s natural to be intimidated by it. But then, the next step is to figure out how to speed up your game. This is where watching and analyzing game film becomes so important. Why, do you ask? Good question.

Increase Your Speed of Play By Developing Your Sense of Anticipation

When you’re learning a language, it’s a struggle at first. You are using all your brainpower to figure out what people are saying, and then the rest of it is used to figure out what you want to say. After enough practice, you don’t have to think anymore – you stop translating everything in your head and just converse. When you reach that point, you are fluent.

For soccer, watching – and analyzing – game footage (especially professional games) is teaching you to be fluent in soccer. Watching videos of plays will develop a heightened sense of anticipation so that you don’t have to think about what to do next, you just instinctually do it. That enables you to react more swiftly and play at a higher speed.

Reading Opponents’ Movements Increases Your Speed of Play

 The best way to learn is by doing. This is why playing as much as you can is important. But, at the same time, you have to rest your body so you can play at a high level – you can’t play 5 games a week and expect to physically be hitting on all cylinders.

By watching video clips of professionals playing your position(s), you can supplement game time with visualizing the actions that you should be taking. Seeing how the best midfielders scan and occupy passing lanes shows you how to do the same. It also shows you what your opponents’ movements should be, so you can anticipate them and counter them before they happen. For example: the best thing an attacking player can do to create space to receive the ball is a double movement – if they want to check to the ball, first check away two steps and then check to. That will pull the defender away from where you really want to go. As a defender, knowing that is the best thing an attacking player can do changes how you defend and keeps them from getting the space they want.

Increasing the Speed Your Brain Plays At Will Slow the Physical Game Down

Stick with us on this one – if you can run a 6 minute mile, telling you to run a 10 minute mile would feel impossibly slow. Watching clips of professionals play – with professional analysis commentating and educating on what is happening and why – speeds up your mental game. You mentally can play at that absurdly high pace, so when you have to play and a more normal pace the game just feels slow – it’s like everyone is playing against you at half speed.

Increase Your Speed of Play in Three Minutes or Less

All of this to say, as former pros, this is exactly why we created BGTV: to go over all of the aspects of the game youth players should learn, teach you to play smarter, and make better decisions in the moment. We organize it by position and are adding new clips every week. If you want to boost your Soccer IQ – and boost your speed of play – in three minutes or less, get a preview of BGTV here.