 In this video I'm going to share some extremely useful tips that if you actually use them will instantly make you a better player. The next time you step on the field you will play better but you have to use this advice. Now before we jump into all these tips I need to speak on a very important point and that is the idea of your mind being open to learning, being open to advice, being open to criticism. If you think you already know everything you can never improve and not only is this video not for you but this channel is not for you. So if you think you already know everything if any time someone gives you criticism you just shut them out and say no that's stupid I'm not listening to that you guys don't know anything. If that's your attitude then you're in the wrong place. But if on the other side your attitude is ok I may not appreciate their advice or I may not think that's right but I'm at least willing to listen and I'm willing to think about it and try to apply it to my game. If your mind is open to growth, if you're open to criticism from your coaches from your teammates and you don't take it personally you just take it as knowledge, useful knowledge that you can use to improve your game then you will improve much faster than the most skilled player who is shut off who thinks they know everything. That player might be good for a couple of seasons but in the long run you're going to pass them in leaps and bounds ok. So let's get into this here are some world class tips that nobody talks about and if you actually use them we'll make you a better player the next time you step on the field. I'm going to start with a tip that a lot of you out there probably don't want to hear and don't want to agree with but it is extremely true and if you ask anyone who plays at the top level they would agree with this off the ball movement is more important than on the ball movement. What you do when you don't have the ball at your feet is more important than what you do when you do have the ball at your feet. You will be a more effective player if you focus on your off the ball movement because most players never even think about that they just think about what they're doing when they do have the ball ok. Did you know that the average player in a professional match is on the ball for 45 seconds to one minute in a 90 minute match? What are they doing the other 89 minutes? The other 89 minutes and 15 seconds. What are they doing off the ball and that's what I want to talk about and that's what you need to start thinking about ok. So like I said what you do on the ball it is important it's very important you got to take care of that ball you got to be direct you got to make things happen but you're not on the ball that often during the game most of the time you're going to be off the ball and we got to talk about what we're doing when we're off the ball ok. So two things I either want you to support the ball get in good position to support the ball give your your teammate an outlet so if he gets trapped he has somewhere to go or you're trying to make a forward run so we can get into attacking positions and we can create goal scoring chances for ourselves but also for our teammates ok. So when my teammate has the ball he's dribbling up the field a lot of us we're just watching him we're slowly jogging up the field or we're slowly jogging up or even worse we're just standing there we're just watching ok we're saying hey buddy you got the ball go ahead you got this covered no you need to get involved in the play you got to get up the field ok and again show for those passes or make forward runs or if he gets blocked off we need to be there to support him ok let's say you're playing as a center back and this fullback has the ball here ok if I'm in this position this isn't good he doesn't have an outlet he can't go backwards what if he gets trapped he's screwed ok so positioning is what you want to focus on when you're off the ball am I creating a passing angle am I creating an outlet especially if I'm a defensive player or a central player like the center backs or a defensive midfielder am I creating an outlet for him to get out of trouble or am I screwing him over because my positioning my off the ball movement isn't good ok on the attacking side of things am I getting space for myself am I making runs showing for the ball or am I standing still and letting the opposing team defend me making their life really easy ok so when you're off the ball when you don't have the ball I want you active always finding new space always moving into new space when you my teammates are going forward am I making for runs and I'm trying to go forward if my run doesn't work if I get blocked I'm not just going to give up and never make that run again I'm going to go find new space we're always going to be constantly moving off the ball movement that's how you get involved in the play if you're not getting on the ball right now it's not because your teammates are passing the ball or your skills aren't good enough it's because you're not active enough you're not making forward runs you're not supporting the ball you're not switching up your runs okay you're just standing still and you're hoping for the ball rather than working on your off the ball movement getting in good positions to ensure that you increase your chances of getting the ball okay so let's talk quickly about the defensive side of things because when you're defending you're not on the ball okay and this is extremely important I talk about this all the time but a lot of us aren't doing it especially our forwards okay their team has the ball and we're just watching what are we doing off the ball can we press to win that ball can we press can we close down these spaces okay can I anticipate where the ball is going to be played and close that gap okay so off the ball movement when you don't have the ball defensively am I switched on am I thinking about okay the ball is going to come into this space a lot of us the ball is getting there and then we're reacting okay you need to be think about reading the play if you can see that he's going to ping that ball cross view like this okay I need to anticipate and I want to get there as soon as he gets there okay so off the ball movement defensively think about your positioning okay try to read the play don't just react to the play anticipate the play okay so can you work harder defensively to win the ball back for your team working harder when you don't have the ball how hungry are you when you don't have the ball everybody wants to work hard when we do have the ball a lot of us are willing to make those four runs we might not be doing it all the time or as much as we should but we're doing it a lot more than making runs on the defensive side of things okay so think about the next time you're playing what am I going to do when I don't have the ball am I making positive runs am I always active am I showing for the ball am I making forward runs am I supporting the ball defensively is my positioning good what position do I need to be in right now can I anticipate the play and read where the next pass is going to go and then get there and then when the defender or the attacker does have the ball can I close them down quickly and stay with him or work really hard off the ball to win the ball back for my team to be more involved in the play the second tip I want to share with you and this is so important I see this in young players and even experience older players all the time how do you respond when you make mistakes so say you receive the ball and you lose possession what do you do after that or you have a chance to score and you miss that opportunity what do you do after that how do you respond okay everyone makes mistakes the best players in the world make mistakes they miss five yard sitters they miss three yards simple passes but what's important is how do you respond okay most players as soon as they make a mistake head is down shoulders are down body language is down their negative self talks going off everyone else is getting on them like come on man what are you doing get yourself together and they just go down and down and down and down okay the only time they play well is if they make no mistakes what happens when you make a mistake you need to respond positively if I get on the ball and I lose possession of the ball okay I shake it off right away first of all I go chase that ball down right away I win it back for my team then I get then I play simple then I focus on my first touch a lot better next time I focus on taking care of the ball playing those simple passes and I work myself into the game okay if you miss an easy goal scoring chance or a difficult goal scoring chance you just miss a chance okay most players after that they don't want another chance because they're afraid they're going to miss or they don't want to even make the run to get in front of the net because they know they might miss that opportunity if you miss a goal scoring opportunity you need to be hungry for the next one because you know you're going to get it okay it's all about this positive response everyone makes mistakes but very few players respond positively and if you can start responding positively after you make your mistakes get over it learn from it get on to the next one you're going to be a much better player and you're going to stay involved in the game what happens is most players make mistakes and then they slowly disappear from the game because again they're afraid to get on the ball they're afraid to make more mistakes don't be afraid to make mistakes making mistakes is part of the game everyone does it and when other people your teammates yell at you for making mistakes don't take it personally okay because they're going to do the same thing five minutes later and you're not going to yell at them you're going to encourage them you're going to motivate them and then the next time maybe they won't do that to you okay but if you make a mistake let's say for example you lose possession of the ball you're dribbling you get tackled you lose possession of the ball or you receive the ball you have a bad touch you lose possession of the ball i want you to chase that ball down win it back right away get that ball play simple then as soon as the next play the next opportunity i want you go searching for that ball get the ball again ask for the ball demand the ball okay even if i screw up 10 times in a row i'm going to go 10 more times and search for that ball get that ball on my feet and i'm going to play simple play myself into the game okay so ask yourself currently how am i responding after i make mistakes after i lose possession after i make a bad pass or after i miss a scoring opportunity does my head go down do my shoulders go down do i talk negatively to myself tell myself i'm no good why would you miss a chance like that or do i pump myself up shake it off learn from it and go searching for the next opportunity the next tip is move the damn ball move this thing right here let the ball do the work and i'm talking mainly to my really talented skill technical players because i find these are always the players who are taking too long on the ball yes there's the type of player who's just they're a bit slow they're a bit nervous their touches aren't the best their decision making is not the sharpest and they're playing too slow okay they need to play a bit quicker to receive that ball pass that ball move and get it back but it's our talented players who are having the most problem with this idea it's because you have all the skill okay and you need to be honest with yourself are you this type of player are you making this mistake because they have so much skill because they have so much talent and ability they want to show that off every time they get the ball they want to impress their coaches their teammates they want to show their skill and they want to use it to create chances but the truth is these players are taking way too many touches and honestly i love defending that type of player i love coming up against that player anytime that player gets the ball i love just pressing them quickly clipping out their ankles going in hard to tackles and winning the ball because they think they're because they have so much skill they have to show it off like i said and they take too many touches they're on the ball way too long okay my defender might come to press them and then i just get in there right away and what happens is they lose the ball they do it again they lose the ball their teammates start yelling at them getting down on them they start getting frustrated with themselves head goes down and they just play worse and worse and worse okay but the truth is this player is way easier to defend than the player who really keeps it simple this guy here always plays two touch he doesn't have as good of skill but when he's on the ball he just gets it he moves it he moves into space this guy's way harder to defend than this guy who has all the skill in the world but he takes too many touches and he takes way too long to make decisions okay if you're a skilled player you need to move the ball even quicker you will have chances to use your skill okay but that's going to come from playing quickly so say i receive the ball in here receive pass find new space get that ball turn play that ball find new space suddenly you'll pop up and now i have space to attack now i can take a couple touches now i can cut inside get my shot on goal okay there will be times for you to use your skill but you need to understand when to do that and when to not and mainly in the defensive third in the middle third if it's in really tight areas here i got defenders around me you need to move that ball okay have a focus on having a really good first touch move that ball then get into new space turn good first touch move that ball can you play two touch move that ball move that ball move that ball move that ball so important the next time you watch professional football i want you to count the amount of touches each player takes on the field when they do take multiple touches i want you to think about what situations or what areas they're in okay did they pick it up on the wing and they had tons of space and they didn't just take 10 touches they took 10 touches but they sprinted up the field cut inside and then laid off a pass or cut inside and whipped across or cut inside and took a shot okay there will be times for you to use your skill when there's open space to exploit when you're one on one you just have to beat one guy to get a shot off okay but the majority of the time watch professional football count the amount of touches they take and watch how fast that ball moves around the field okay if you're a talented player you're a skilled player realize you're going to get more of the ball if you move it quicker if you take 10 touches every time you have the ball no one's going to want to pass you the ball because you're a ball hub okay so move that ball quicker let the ball do the work when you get it pass it move to get it back and you're going to be surprised at how much more you get on the ball how much more you get on the ball how much more you are involved in the play and when you do have your space yes feel free to take those touches use your skills in those dangerous areas okay but the majority of the time move that damn ball i want to talk about a very important idea and i used to do this a lot when i was younger and i see players do this all the time is you slowly disappear from the game you might start the game really well like you're really involved you're on the ball you're making runs you're getting involved you're playing really well and then as the game progresses 20th minute you're getting a little less on the ball 30th minute a little less 40th minute you're nowhere to be found second half starts you might start well again five 10 minutes is good you're sharp you're on the ball you're getting involved and then slowly 70th 80th 90th you're nowhere to be found you haven't touched the ball you're not involved in the play you're not making any tackles you're not contributing okay so in order for you to stay involved in the play for the whole game you need to do a couple things and it starts right here in your mind keeping focused okay if you're not focused on your movement on what you're doing and noticing okay i haven't touched the ball in a little bit i need to change what i'm doing i can't make the same runs i can't stay in the same spot i need to change things up i need to be more active i need to get myself involved in the game okay so try to keep a mental tab am i involved in the game right now if not i need to change that because you'll find again it usually when you're starting the game you got lots of energy you're working hard off the ball you're chasing guys down you're getting involved you're demanding the ball and then as you get a little bit tired and tired and tired you slowly slip out of the game okay so you need to number one ask yourself mentally am i involved enough am i getting involved in the play so keep your focus on being involved in the play a couple things i want you to do number one go searching for the ball if the ball is not coming to you don't expect don't expect your teammates to find you you gotta go searching sometimes you gotta change up your runs say if i'm playing a striker i might have to drop a bit deeper into the midfield to pick the ball up or if i'm out on the wing i might have to come inside to get that ball okay go searching for that ball get out of your position a little bit i would much rather you'd be out of position and get on the ball then stay in your position out there on the wing and never be involved okay your coach might not agree with that but personally i think you as a player you need to be involved as much as you can and there will be times when you're staying really wide and you will get involved because you're demanding the ball you're getting your width early you creating space for yourself and you're getting on the ball but if you're not getting the ball do something about it don't make the same run switch it up okay go searching for that ball on the other side of things if you're not getting involved i want you to go hunting for the ball and what i mean by hunting is on the defensive side of things okay start anticipating the play when their team has the ball they're moving it around can you anticipate where the next pass is going to go and then go hunting for that ball and when i say hunt that doesn't mean you're jogging slowly to get that ball you're sprinting after that ball you're chasing your pressuring that guy you're forcing them to make a mistake you win the ball back for your team and then you either exploit the open space that's given to you or you get that ball you move that ball and then you start playing those little passes getting moving around again go searching for the ball getting involved in the play okay so number one mentally ask yourself am i involved enough no i need to do something about i need to switch it up i need to stay mentally focused but i need to stay physically focused and involved with my movement okay second go searching for the ball when your team has the ball go searching find new pockets of space don't always make the same run definitely don't stand still because no one's going to give you the ball but switch your runs up so you can search for the ball get that ball on your feet then play those little passes combination play get involved in the play and finally the probably the best thing you can do if you're not getting the ball is work harder defensively go hunting for that ball okay can you chase defenders down can you chase midfielders down when your defender is closing someone can you come and double okay can you go hunting for that ball win that ball defensively and you're going to get way more involved in the play okay so think about those things think about being involved for the whole game extremely important this tip will absolutely transform the way you play if you actually use it it does work it's an extremely simple piece of advice but it's so powerful and that is i want you to be extremely direct what does that mean that doesn't mean i'm just going to kick the ball at the field direct as in going one pass to beat everything i'm still trying to play nice football i'm still trying to keep possession and move the ball but whenever i have space i'm trying to attack you need to score goals to win the game okay if i'm always getting the ball i'm going backwards i'm never going to score goals so whenever you can ask yourself get a head shoulder check look over your shoulder is there space get turned can we play forward can we move forward play forward move forward play forward move forward whenever i get the ball i'm trying to attack i'm trying to be extremely direct if they're not going to close me down if they're giving me all this space i'm not going to get my head up realize their space and then jog into this space okay i already know their space i receive the ball my first touches into space i sprint at that net if nobody closed me down i just score the goal celebrate and win the game for my team okay most of us we're getting the ball like i said we're getting turned now we got our head up now we realize there's plays space we're still a bit hesitant we're still looking for a pass rather than going forward and being extremely direct okay so the next time you play i want you to think about if i have space i'm always going to take my first touch into space towards the net okay if i have a teammate who's open in space i'm going to get him that ball as soon as possible if you were out here and you were in this if someone was out here and you were in this position and you were in open space you wouldn't want him to take a couple touches dribble up and then make a decision you would want him to get you that ball right away okay so when you're on the ball ask yourself can i play forward and then join in the attack or if there's no passing options can i dribble forward and be very direct either get to the sideline and whip across or get in the box and get your shot off okay but i want you to think about being extremely direct every time i get the ball can i score is there a chance to score is there a chance to help my team score is there a chance to get an assist i'm always trying to play forward saying that sometimes you can't play for it sometimes i receive the ball and there's three guys on me i'm not just going to turn into trouble because dylan said to play forward no okay you got to know when to play forward and when to keep possession of that ball maybe i just play that one touch and then i go find some new space receive okay this guy's off me now i can turn now i can dribble forward now i can play that pass but try to always go forward if you can if you can't keep possession of the ball try to go and get that ball again and then play forward be extremely direct go for goals at every opportunity possible i think we can agree that there's sometimes when your teammates piss you off they really frustrate you because maybe they're not playing quick enough they're not playing smart enough they're not playing hard enough they're not playing with enough energy or intensity they're not playing with enough urgency okay certain things will frustrate you and it almost feels like you can't do anything about it and maybe even worse you start expressing that frustration verbally you start yelling at them you start putting your hands up in the air moaning groaning what the hell are you doing getting really frustrated and showing this emotion okay but guess what that isn't going to make them play any better now i know like especially in like english or those uk countries of different countries real hard-working football countries if a guy makes a mistake his teammates are usually like what the f are you doing man they're all over him they're verbally just tearing him apart and they think that that's going to make him play better and for some players it might okay but personally i think there's a better to motivate your teammates and make them play the way you want to play and that is by leading by example okay so if i want my teammates to play with more energy with more intensity i need to do that i need to be pressing guys i need to be closing the gaps down i need to be getting the really tense going in hard for tackles if my teammates see me doing that then they're going to get a little pump of energy they're going to say hey if he can do that i can do that or if he's going to do that for the team i'm going to do that for the team okay so instead of getting down on your teammates lead by example as well when you're on the ball if i'm on the ball i'm making sharp touches i'm playing quick passes i'm moving off the ball i'm demanding the ball i'm really positive with my movement with my talk saying yeah give me the ball everything is sharp it's quick okay it's going to encourage it's going to force your teammates to play the same way okay if i play you a little one two pass and i go into space and i'm really quick and sharp and you're super slow on the ball and you get tackled well that guy's going to realize okay like he's doing something a lot different than what i'm doing okay so instead of getting down on him lead by example lead by example defensively with your pressing with your intensity with your closing out how hard you go into tackles that'll get your teammates energy up and when you're on the ball okay your movement how quick you're playing how direct you're playing just the style of your play will influence your teammates also communication is absolutely key i can influence my teammates by the way i talk okay if i'm super quiet and i don't even open my mouth i really have no effect on my teammates they don't really know what i want from them okay now don't confuse this i'm not getting down on them i'm not telling them what are you doing do this i'm just giving good verbal descriptive communication so i'm telling them where to play i'm saying yes pass the ball this way yes give it to johnny yes play quick play simple play simple yes move the ball here i am home open i'm open cake this quick communication just directing the play yes move the ball play inside play to this specific guy take your space turn mad on no time time okay all this descriptive communication if you're verbally talking not only will you be more involved in the play not only will you stand out and press your coaches you're actually going to have more control over the way your teammates play you're going to make them sharper you're going to help them make quicker decisions you're going to get their energy up because you're you got that bright energy it's contagious and your teammates will latch onto that and it will affect the way they play okay final thing i want to say about that is motivate your teammates encourage them instead of saying what the heck are you doing give them positive encouragement say hey just play a bit simpler just take a good focus on your first touch and play quick i know you can do better or when they do things good extremely important when they do things good praise them if they make a nice quick receive and pass off the ball movement or they make a hard tackle praise them be like yes fantastic good job keep it up do that again and they will be motivated they'll be inspired because it felt good to get that praise from you and they'll want to keep doing it okay so when your teammates are frustrating you when things aren't going away your team's not playing the way you want them to play instead of moaning growing and getting frustrated saying oh these guys never do anything right blaming other people take some responsibility and lead by example i've shared this tip quite a few times and honestly i don't think enough of us are doing it it's like the most basic tip but it's the most powerful tip it will help you score the most goals it'll help you be more effective in the attacking third and that is just get into the right areas okay scoring goals isn't about technique it's not a it is about technique you have to have the technique to finish the goals off but getting those chances getting your opportunity to score those goals is all about movement it's all about getting in the right areas okay sadly most of us our teammate has this opportunity to score and we're just trotting up the field we're just jogging we're just watching him oh yeah you got it you got it i hope he scores okay get in there even if you think he's going to even if he's on a breakaway and you're a hundred percent he's going to score sprint up there and look boom the goal he made a save and you tapped in a rebound okay it will never happen if you never get in the right areas you will not score any goals if you don't get in the right areas just think about that idea scoring goals it's not so much about technique it's about getting in the right areas so anytime there's an opportunity to score if someone's whipping a ball in the box you need to be making that run in there or if i'm a midfielder i need to be getting there if i'm a full back i want to get in there okay if i'm a center back i might have to balance i might have to take care of my team okay but there's still opportunities for you so anytime especially if you're an attacking player anytime there's a ball whipped into the box or there's a chance for someone to get a shot or we're moving forward okay don't jog up the field don't shot up the field sprint it to that space that's how you're gonna get opportunities to score watch this if i'm jogging into the space this is easy for this guy to stay with me if i'm just jogging there yeah yeah yeah give me the ball give me the ball just jogging there okay it's so easy for him to defend me if instead i realize there's an opportunity give him a little push for some space sprint into this area okay that's how you're going to get your opportunities but get into those areas get into those areas with purpose okay so get into the box get around the box if your teammates have a chance to score don't just watch sprint you have to be hungry and you have to realize that there could be an opportunity here a lot of times the ball might get whipped across it goes through everyone okay it goes through everyone but the fullback wanted he was hungry he wanted to get involved and it came out here and boom he just tapped it and got himself a goal he would never get that if he was waiting back here and just watching his teammates play saying oh i'm a defender i just defend want to get involved risk a bit okay get into the box make those forward runs get into the right areas but get into those areas with purpose i guarantee if you just understand that scoring goals isn't so much about technique it's more about movement it's more about getting into the right spots you're going to score so many more goals this season so please take that advice because not enough of us are using that idea and see what happens for you i guarantee you're going to see some great results before i end this video and send you on your way send it to your next practice or your next game i want you to understand that your ability to implement these ideas will determine how good you become and how fast you improve 90% of players who watch this video will not do a single thing that i recommended in this video they will just go back to their old habits they'll have the same frustrations and the same pains and they'll play the same way 10% of people and i want you to be part of this 10% who actually watched this video they watched it all the way through they really thought about okay what am i doing in the game compared to what he's telling me to do and how can i make that change and they actually apply what they learn next time they go in the field they try to do all these things that we talked about they will improve so much faster than their competition so much faster than their opponents so your ability to implement what you learn not only my advice but the advice that your coaches give you the advice that your parents give you the advice that your teammates give you if you can take that knowledge and implement it into your game put it into your game you will improve faster than everyone else the harsh truth is that most players like i said in the very beginning they cannot accept criticism they are not open to new ideas they think they know everything and because of that they will stay the same player that they are today for the rest of their lives okay so if you want to become better than everyone else you want to improve faster than everyone else that all depends on your ability to take this information and apply it to your game the next time you play but consistently keep coming back to this video keep coming back to all these videos listening to my advice listening to your coaches advice the advice of people that you respect and actually asking yourself am i actually doing these things or am i doing the same things that i've always done okay if you do something new you're going to get new results if you do what you've always done you're going to get what you've always got okay so thank you once again for watching this video please like comment subscribe and i want you to go out of your way to share this video with players that you want to help improve so if you've got some teammates if you're a parent watching this video and you've got a kid you've got some friends you know are passionate about soccer or football and you want to help them improve share this video with them share it on your social media because it's a very powerful video and if we can get this video out there it's going to improve the quality of football around the world and that's an incredible thing so thanks for watching this video and i'll talk to you real soon