The Four Elements of a Soccer Player

As soccer mentors, our mentees are constantly asking us what coaches look for in players. They know they have to be well-rounded, but many young players aren’t quite sure what that means. 

To simplify this thought process, many coaches divide a player’s skill into four different elements: technical, tactical, athletic, and mental. Thus, an effective training regimen spends time on improving all four elements. Coaches meet a lot of players who possess one or two qualities of a high-level athlete, but someone who checks all four boxes is a much rarer find. 

To clarify, here’s what each element entails:

1.  Technical Skills 

This refers to your ability with the ball. Can you maintain control while dribbling in tight spaces with both feet? Can you make accurate passes and shots? Can you receive the ball well?

As youth players advance, it becomes more and more important to be a two-footed player – overly relying on your strong foot slows the game down significantly and sooner rather than later shifting the ball to your strong foot gives defenders all the time they need to shut down an attack. 

How to practice technical skills: get a ball, get a wall, and pass to it. Use every side of your feet, use every part of your body to control it when it bounces back. Juggle regularly, and play pick up games every chance you get. Growing your technical skills is all about getting as many touches on the ball as you can. 

2.  Tactical Awareness

Tactical awareness refers to a player’s ability to read the game – are they able to anticipate what is about to happen and adjust accordingly? Do they see opportunities – or threats – before they arise and are able to capitalize on them?

To clarify, your tactical abilities reflect your capacity to anticipate how an uncertain situation might unfold, put yourself in an advantageous position based on a probable outcome, and react quickly when the circumstances change.

How to practice tactical awareness: play games and watch games. We developed a tool – BGTV – to speed up tactical training by position with professional commentary on games, analyzing what is happening and its impact. Use code FREEMONTH1 to get your first month free!

3.  Athletic Prowess

Regardless of your position, every soccer player needs to be quick, strong, and in shape from a cardiovascular perspective. If you’re solid in one of these three aspects but lacking in another, your opponent can exploit it. 

Of course, each player shows their athleticism in different ways, which can inform your athletic training. For example, while a striker might focus on being strong, an outside back might focus on honing their acceleration and stamina so they can take deep runs over and over again. 

How to practice athletic prowess: contrary to popular belief, speed can be trained! It doesn’t mean everyone has the athletic ability to be an Olympic sprinter, but everyone can improve their base level and get faster. 

4.  Mental Strength

Over our careers, we consistently saw this element to be the one most overlooked – and the biggest differentiator between good and great players. 

A key aspect to the mental side of soccer applies to resilience. Lots of players can perform when their team has momentum. But what happens when the momentum shifts? What happens when you make a mistake? Can you quickly recover and continue playing the way you’re supposed to play?

Resilient players rise above the pack. They are the ones that can shift games, turn losses into draws and draws into wins. Resilient players are the ones every coach wants on their team. 

How to train mental strength: Unfortunately, the traditional approach to coaching soccer gives almost zero attention to the mental game. That’s why we started Beyond Goals Mentoring: to help young athletes build the elite mindsets required for high-level soccer. Your skills and athleticism may be top-notch, but it’s resilience that will get you to the next level. 

So, if your athlete is ready to make the leap, let’s set up a mentoring session today.