Player Differences: The Elite Player vs. the Recreational

PlayerFred King

State Development Coach

Mass Youth Soccer

Technical Abilities

• First touch with all parts of their feet

• Active first touch under pressure

• Weight and accuracy of passing on the ground and in the air

• Shooting proficiency

• Proper defensive techniques

Tactical Abilities

• Understanding roles of 1st and 2nd attacker and defender

• Combination play

• Changing the point of the attack

• Attacking and defending shape

Physical Abilities

• Body control- refined motor skills

• Speed and strength doesn’t differ greatly

• Conditioning- increased amount of training sessions and matches

Psychological Abilities

• Why do they play soccer?

• Individual goals differ within the team at each level

• Role soccer plays in their lives differs greatly

What do we do as coaches?

• Challenge our players individually and as a group

• Understand which group we are working with- clear expectations

• Age/level appropriate development

• Detail in our coaching points

How do we improve all of our players

• Work on improving appropriate technical and tactical skills for each level and age

• Game like activities- coaching our players during these activities!

• Focused training sessions- progressive

• Teach the visual cues of the game