The winter and spring months are the most important for any young football player. You win in the fall with work in the spring, and when you’re in the midst of an ‘offseason’ there’s ample time and opportunity to elevate your game and own your position before practice begins in August.
As an athlete born and raised in Connecticut, the available opportunities to develop every offseason – and those dedicated enough to provide them – were slim. I distinctly recall receiving an invite to a camp in seventh grade, where the autograph and photo session of the coaches in attendance was longer than the cumulative amount spent on the field. Like many young athletes, no matter their location, I wanted my future to start immediately and I wanted it to include college athletics. I wasn’t interested in an autograph, I just wanted to play football. And as often as possible.
Football is a sport that requires lots of multi-limb co-ordinations each second of every play. The top players at any level are those that can perform these movements with speed, precision and control. Technical ability, coupled with football IQ, is the clearest differentiator between top level players and average players at every level of football. Technique plus talent beats talent alone is the truth of football. In every competitive practice rep and every one-on-one matchup in a game, a player will emerge victorious over another because of his technical supremacy.
An overwhelming majority of athletes realize that truth and the weight of its importance too late in their lives. For some, they fully comprehend it when they are already entrenched in a high school career. By that point muscle memorization encompasses routines that rely on talent alone. For most high school football players, by the time they reach the conclusions of their sophomore seasons they only have two years of football left in their lives. At that age, all the hours that should have been spent working on technical aspects of the game are long gone, never to be recovered.
Developing technique starts with a deliberate focus on practice and repetition. Footwork, hand usage, throwing, stance, catching, etc. — these are not abilities that can be dissected and thought about mid-game. These by-position techniques must be fundamentally ingrained into the player. Technique is a habit.
Its habitual nature and the dividends it pays can be seen not just in football but in all sports. Giants of European soccer have youth academies that start as young as seven years old, and a primary focus is technique. At that age of seven, technique is established as the most important differentiator. Some academies are shaped with a T.I.P.S. model – Technique, Insight (awareness and IQ), Personality, and Speed. The latter two are innate properties, but a player’s Technique and Insight can always be developed further. That notion is communicated from day one – the chase for technical perfection is constant.
Improvement occurs with correctly and consistently implemented fundamentals. Advanced players — the ones that jump off the screen in highlight tapes — understand the value of supplemental training with coaches leading and directing every step of the way. but most if not all of them will have accumulated thousands of extra reps before they begin their varsity careers. They separate themselves from the pack on their own. Coaches know those players put themselves ahead of the curve. When attending a showcase or college camp as underclassmen, those with advanced technique stand out from the pack. A head coach, or even a graduate assistant for that matter, knows those players will arrive on their college campus as a freshman with a full toolbox — as opposed to one hammer and a couple nails.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the theme of a “10,000-Hour Rule” appears throughout. Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time; it takes 10,000 hours to become an ‘expert’ in any field or profession. This theme can be flexed to a degree of repetitions in sport. In soccer, coaches in youth academies make their under-9 players go through 10,000 touches on the ball each day at training sessions – and on off days, it is understood by the players that they must go through the routine of 10,000 touches individually. Steph Curry takes a minimum of 2,000 shots every week, not counting games.
The in-season portion of Tom Brady’s daily regimen is designed to run through Super Bowl Sunday; if New England’s campaign ends in a playoff loss, Brady completes every drill, every throw, anyway.
Every repetition on the field is like dropping money into a piggybank — a tangible investment that adds up substantially over time. Start refining the fundamentals and techniques of your position at a young age, and your football development will be more advanced by the time you’re competing for varsity snaps.
By Mike Ulatoski @themikeulatoski
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you. https://www.binance.com/es/register?ref=PORL8W0Z
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you. https://accounts.binance.com/ph/register?ref=DB40ITMB
I may need your help. I tried many ways but couldn’t solve it, but after reading your article, I think you have a way to help me. I’m looking forward for your reply. Thanks.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!
Howdy this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you, I’ve just been looking for info about this subject for a long time and yours is the greatest I have discovered so far. However, what concerning the bottom line? Are you positive about the supply?
I have learned some new items from your web-site about computer systems. Another thing I have always imagined is that laptop computers have become a product that each house must have for some reasons. They supply you with convenient ways to organize households, pay bills, shop, study, hear music and in some cases watch tv series. An innovative method to complete many of these tasks has been a laptop. These pcs are mobile, small, robust and mobile.
I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays..
One thing I’d like to comment on is that weightloss routine fast can be achieved by the appropriate diet and exercise. A person’s size not merely affects the look, but also the overall quality of life. Self-esteem, depression, health risks, as well as physical skills are affected in weight gain. It is possible to make everything right whilst still having a gain. In such a circumstance, a condition may be the reason. While a lot of food and not enough work out are usually to blame, common medical conditions and traditionally used prescriptions can greatly add to size. Thx for your post here.
Thanks for sharing your ideas. I might also like to state that video games have been at any time evolving. Modern tools and innovative developments have served create reasonable and active games. All these entertainment games were not really sensible when the concept was first being tried out. Just like other designs of know-how, video games also have had to advance through many years. This is testimony on the fast growth of video games.
Thanks for every other wonderful post. Where else may just anybody get that kind of information in such an ideal way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I’m on the search for such information.
Fantastic blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thank you!
Thanks for the ideas you have contributed here. Also, I believe usually there are some factors which will keep your auto insurance premium all the way down. One is, to think about buying automobiles that are within the good set of car insurance businesses. Cars which have been expensive are usually more at risk of being stolen. Aside from that insurance is also using the value of your truck, so the higher in price it is, then the higher the particular premium you have to pay.
This article really highlights the importance of focusing on technique in football! I completely agree that talent alone isn’t enough success comes from hours of deliberate practice and mastering the fundamentals. I especially like the point about starting early, because developing proper footwork, hand usage, and other position-specific skills takes time and repetition. Too often, players realize the importance of technique too late. Articles like this are a great reminder for young athletes to prioritize skill development and make every offseason count.
hey there and thank you for your info ? I?ve definitely picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise several technical issues using this web site, since I experienced to reload the site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and could damage your high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for much more of your respective fascinating content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
I have seen that car insurance businesses know the cars which are at risk from accidents and also other risks. They also know what style of cars are inclined to higher risk as well as the higher risk they may have the higher the particular premium amount. Understanding the easy basics connected with car insurance will assist you to choose the right sort of insurance policy that could take care of the needs you have in case you become involved in any accident. Thank you sharing your ideas in your blog.
Hey there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Appreciate it!
I?m not sure the place you are getting your information, but great topic. I must spend some time studying more or figuring out more. Thank you for magnificent info I used to be in search of this info for my mission.
It’s easy to think talent will take you far, but the truth is, technique is what truly separates the great players from the good ones. I love the analogy about every practice rep being like putting money into a piggy bank—it really highlights how consistent effort over time compounds into real success. The example of soccer academies and athletes like Steph Curry and Tom Brady really drives home the point that excellence requires dedication and thousands of repetitions. It’s a reminder to focus on mastering the fundamentals, especially when you’re starting young.
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done a formidable job and our whole community will be grateful to you.
excellent issues altogether, you simply received a brand new reader. What would you recommend about your put up that you simply made some days ago? Any certain?
This is undoubtedly one of the best articles I’ve read on this topic! The author’s comprehensive knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject are evident in every paragraph. I’m so grateful for finding this piece as it has deepened my understanding and ignited my curiosity even further. Thank you, author, for taking the time to create such a remarkable article!