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Good evening 👋

Welcome to this week in Soccer! The world of soccer has been buzzing with excitement as leagues and tournaments across the globe deliver thrilling performances.

This week in soccer, there have been some exciting developments across various leagues and tournaments:

1. UEFA Champions League Qualifiers: The final stages of the qualifiers are underway, with Dinamo Zagreb securing a 2-0 victory over Qarabağ FK, placing them in a strong position to advance to the group stages. Other notable matches include Crvena Zvezda facing Bodø/Glimt and Slavia Praha going up against LOSC Lille​.

2. Major League Soccer (MLS): The MLS action continues with key matches such as Philadelphia Union taking on Columbus Crew. In other MLS news, DC United delivered a strong performance with a 3-0 win against Santos Laguna​

3. La Liga: Athletic Club is leading Valencia 1-0 in an ongoing match, while Atlético Madrid is set to face Espanyol later today. The Spanish league continues to showcase intense competition as teams jostle for early season points​

4. Saudi Pro League: Al Ettifaq secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Al Akhdoud, and Al Hilal is currently playing against Damac. The Saudi league is drawing more attention this season with the influx of high-profile players​

These highlights are just a glimpse of the global football action this week. Each league brings its unique drama and excitement as teams battle for supremacy in their respective competitions.

Here’s what you’ll find in this week newsletter :

• ⚽ Simple Tips for Beginner Soccer Players

• 🔥 Age has NOTHING To Do With The Ability To Improve

Dive in and enjoy the latest updates and insights from the beautiful game. Happy reading 👋

Simple Tips for Beginner Soccer Players

I’m going to give you two very simple tips for when you’re just starting out in soccer: practice alone and watch soccer. Both of these activities require no one else’s help, and you are in total control! No one has to tell you what to do. Isn’t that a great feeling sometimes?

1. Practicing Alone

Practicing alone is something I really enjoyed as a kid and still enjoy as an adult. I could get up, train whenever I liked, and practice whatever skill I wanted.

Find a time that consistently works for you. Is it before school? After school? During PE? Are you in college? If so, between classes or on the weekends?

Stick to that time. You don’t have to train every day unless you really want to. Sometimes we get busy or tired for various reasons. Be careful not to turn your reasons into excuses.

Think about the areas you want to improve in. Is it your first touch? Is it your ability to handle the ball with your weaker foot? Do you want to be able to run for long periods without getting tired?

Write down a plan before you train. This will help you stick to it. Write down how much time you want to train and create exercises for your session. You can learn how to create your own session plan here.

Repetition is the mother of skill. The more you train, the better you’ll be. It’s that simple. I’m not sure if this is true—you can do your own research—but I read that David Beckham used to practice 30 to 40 free kicks every day. Repetition is important, but you need to make sure that when you train, your technique is crisp. Every repetition you take must be clean, feel the same, and look the same as the previous one. Your last few reps need to be as good as your first few. A good way to ensure you’re performing the right mechanics and technique is to watch soccer.

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Age has NOTHING to do with the ability to improve

Some people ask me at what age a player can start training in soccer. My answer is whenever the player decides they want to do it. Training will look different depending on the player's level and age. I’ve trained children as young as three years old in private sessions, which involves a lot of games, imaginative play, and very basic dribbling and kicking. I’ve also trained older and more experienced players in college and professional settings, where we spend an hour or more on high-intensity functional and positional training. Regardless of age or skill level, a player can improve as much as they want to, depending on how much they want to.

Of course, a three-year-old has no mental capacity to understand progress or improvement. I would say that by the age of six, if the player is mature enough to recognize their improvement and genuinely enjoys the sport, they will try to improve and see progress.

Foster and Gianna: From Early Beginnings to Mastery

I met a player named Foster when she was four years old. She is a unique player. She inspires me, and players like her help me maintain my love for the game. Her focus and intelligence are far beyond any player I have coached, even at the elite club level. She was four when we started training, so I didn’t expect much or think much of it until I noticed that she started picking up things quickly and had a genuine interest in the game. Her effort level was unmatched; you could tell she was having fun and wanted to be on the field with the ball. Foster will be eight years old in a few months (in 2022), and I am so proud of the player she is becoming. She fights hard and does not give up. She is an example for all players. Even older players can be inspired by this little girl.

Gianna was one of my very first clients, and I met her when she was seven years old. She was another special player and a special child in general. She was uber-focused, extremely smart, loved the game, and had an understanding of her ability to improve. I remember training with Gianna at 8 a.m. routinely on Sunday mornings. At one point, that was the best time that fit both her dad’s and my schedule, and we never forced Gianna to train. Her dad would always ask her if it was okay with her in front of me, and she always answered eagerly. At the time I was training Gianna, I was also playing professionally. Her love for the game was refreshing and reinvigorated me. Like her, I was young at one point and in total awe of the possibilities of the game. I was obsessed with it, and Gianna reminded me of a young me. I remember when she was either 10 or 11, she told me that if she got 500 juggles, her dad would get her an iPhone.

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