 In this video I'm going to talk about attacking principles and I want you to make sure that you're actually doing these things in the game because although they are simple, not everyone is doing them and if you just remind yourself to do them, you make sure that you do them every time you play, you're going to have way more success. Okay, so the first thing I want to talk about is speed of play. So I want you to get in the habit of doing everything quicker, trying to do everything at top speed or with more efficiency in a much quicker way. So that means when you're training, you have to play quicker and when you're playing in games, your mentality, your decision making has to be quicker but also your movement on the ball, your passes, your dribbling, your intention, your purpose has to be quicker. So what I mean by that is speed of play, okay, so I'm not dwelling on the ball when I have it. Yes, I may need to take touches to turn, to get my head up but I'm playing quick passes. As soon as I get the ball, I'm making a decision, I'm dribbling into space right away. I'm playing quick passes. If I'm getting closed down, I'm playing quick passes. When the ball's at the back and we're moving it around, okay, and I'm getting closed down, I'm playing quick passes, one touch, playing to here, quick passes. Even if I'm not going forward, I'm moving the ball quickly. Why? It forces the other team to move, okay? When the ball's here, everyone is shifting to close us down, okay? But if I move that ball quickly, one, two, it's already out here, now they have to react, okay? And this is where you make space. They're not going to get over there right away. It's going to take time. So this is why you want to get really wide when you're defending. You want to use the width to your advantage, but you want to keep the speed of play up. So when you're playing, especially in your practices, because most players practice at a much slower speed than they would like to play, but then they get in the game and they expect to play at top speed and their mentality isn't there, like their decision-making isn't quick enough and their ability on the ball, the way they do things, the way they take touches, take passes, take dribbles isn't quick enough, okay? So think about playing quicker. When you have the ball, can I make quicker decisions? Get the ball played, get the ball played, get the ball dribbled, get the ball, make quicker decisions on the field. Next I want to talk about passing and moving, okay? Because this is a big problem, especially for young players. When I make a pass, my job isn't done. I can't sit and watch the play, even if I'm playing as a center back here, okay? I can't move because the play is gonna move. So whenever you don't have the ball, what are you doing? Your movement off the ball is probably more important than what you do on the ball because that makes life for your teammates better and that allows you to get into dangerous areas, it allows you to make things happen, okay? So if this guy's on the ball here, what are the other players doing, okay? Hopefully this guy's making a run down the line to get in space. What's that gonna do? It allows this guy to follow him, okay? Maybe he's running into space to pick the ball up here. Ball gets played into there. You're not done. You're running to support. Someone else is checking out to make a run. This guy's coming in here, okay? So what I want you to think about when you're not on the ball, where do I need to be? How can I run to either support the play? So let's say the ball is here and this guy gets closed down. Who's supporting him? Someone's supporting him. Who's running to make a forward run to get into space to win the ball back? Someone has to be doing that as well, okay? So when you're not on the ball, when you're off the ball, your movement is more important than when you are on the ball. You want to score more goals? Work on your off the ball movement. Work on making better runs. If you want 12 weeks of in-depth coaching, covering every area of player development, daily follow along training routines to improve your skills, fitness and confidence, 12 weeks of professional match analysis and access to every advanced course I've created in the past. Check out the link in the description below. You want to be a better playmaker? Work on making better runs and getting the right spaces so you get the ball. If you feel like you're not getting the ball enough in games, it's because you're not making purposeful runs. You're not supporting, you're not running into forward space, you're not working hard enough off the ball to do something that will actually make your players want to give you the ball, okay? If you're always moving, you're always showing, you're always demanding the ball, but you're getting in good positions, okay? They have to give you the ball. If they don't give you the ball, they're going to get in trouble. So think about your off the ball movement. As soon as you pass, move into space. When you don't have the ball, when your teammates have the ball, move into space, either to support or make a forward run so you can get the ball. Okay, and the next thing I want to talk about is playing forward, okay? Whenever possible, we want to try to play forward as much as we can, okay? Because a lot of times, players will get the ball, and it's just easy for them to go backwards or to go sideways, and sometimes going sideways is going forward. But what I mean by that is they're scared to go forward, they're scared to play passes into dangerous areas because they're afraid that they're going to lose it. So instead of playing this pass into here, they might turn and turn again and play backwards, and that's what we call negative play. And sometimes you have to do that to keep possession, but whenever you receive the ball, I want you to try to play forward. So if I'm receiving the ball as a central midfielder here, I should already be checking over my shoulder, seeing where the open players are, okay? So I know someone's open here, I know someone's open here, I know someone's open here, I know he's making a run there, because I'm looking over my shoulder, okay? When you receive it, you should be half turned, turned to go forward. And I'm going to play this ball into here if I can, okay? Think about what is the most dangerous pass I could play right now, and can I get it there without forcing the play, okay? So if I think this is the most dangerous pass, I'm going to play it into there. I want to play forward, I want to create goals, I want to make things happen. And if you're too scared to make those passes, then you're never going to be that playmaker for your team. But what I was leading to there is if I want to play in there, but I can see that it's not the right pass, then hey, I can't force that. I have to make another decision, okay? But when you're on the ball, whenever you're receiving the ball, especially as a striker or attacking player, as anyone on the field, if you get the ball out here, can I take my first touch forward? Can I go forward? Can I play someone in a forward position and then join in, okay? As the striker, when I receive the ball here, is no one on me? I've already looked over my shoulder, no one's on me, okay? I'm going to turn, I'm going to go forward, I'm going to go at them. So whenever you receive the ball, can you go forward? And not only can you go forward, but can you go forward with purpose? Can you go forward with speed? As soon as you get that ball, you see there's space, take off with it. Make the defenders close you down, make them open up space for other players on your team, okay? When you attack with intensity, with purpose, it's not only going to create more chances for yourself, but it's going to create opportunities for your teammates, okay? And the last thing I want to talk about is making forward runs. So playing forward, but also moving forward. Because a lot of players, we get, we want the ball, but we're not willing to make these runs in four positions like this, okay? We want the ball and we're always showing defeat behind these defenders. If you want to score more goals, get in the habit of making these types of runs. Because this is, if you receive the ball in there, you're much more likely to score than receiving the ball in here and having to beat two, three players before you get a shot off, okay? But that comes down to your mentality. You have to be willing to run forward. You have to be willing to make these overlaps to get into space. So whatever position you're playing, try to make more forward runs. Try to get the ball in more dangerous areas. Don't always show to support. Don't always try to get the ball to feet, okay? Sometimes you have to make that run. More times than not, try to make that run. You're not always going to get the ball, but just because you're being positive you're making forward runs, you're going to get more scoring opportunities. But hey, look at it like this. If I make this forward run, if they don't track me, then yes, I'm going to get the ball. But if they do track me, what's going to happen here? It's opening up more space for other players to come into, for someone else to pick up the ball, and it's going to create good things for your team, okay? So think about making more forward runs. Don't always show to support. Run forward, make that run to get in the box, to get the goal, to get your shot to make things happen.