1. Clean Skills - This is fairly obvious...no? Have you ever seen a player struggle to collect a pass?...dribble the ball without much control?...It seems like they take forever to make a play with the ball. If you can control the ball cleanly, that gives you more time to think and get to the next play. It also give your opponent less time to react. Sharpen your receiving skills, make your passes more precise, dribble with better control...these will all help you play faster.
2. Reading - It's important to know what you are going to do quickly. Many players wait until they get the ball before looking up and making a decision. This can slow down the whole team. And causes missed opportunities...We talk about looking around and reading before you get the ball. Even if you're not the fastest player in the world, you can read quickly...this will help you play faster. We have a player on our team, Danielle Sample, who is excellent in this area. Danielle knows where she is going with the ball before she gets it and makes the right play quickly and cleanly most of the time.
3. Running - Well, of course if you run fast you will play fast...but we are also talking about "running" off the ball for your teammates. If you run into open spaces, you will help your team play more quickly. Sometimes, "running" can just mean moving one or two steps to improve a passing lane...but it can make all the difference.
4. Transitions - Soccer is a game of mistakes...the ball is being turned over constantly during the game...hundreds of times each game. Turnovers include steals, give aways, balls going out of bounds, fouls, even goals. And each time there is a turnover, there is a transition...one team goes from offense to defense and the other has to change as well...Guess what?...If I can transition more quickly than my opponent, I will gain an advantage. This is another area that can help us play faster as a team.
Did anyone see the Real Madrid-Getafe game last weekend? Real Madrid scored an apparent goal in the 2nd half to go up 1-0. They were all celebrating in the corner...well, the referee had called offside. Getafe put the ball down so quickly, they were racing to the other end with a 3 on 2 situation...and they scored at the other end...wow! Now, that is great transition...Click on the link to see it (it was so fast it even fooled the camera man!).
5. Communication - Letting our teammates know what we are doing helps us to play faster. Now talking is an obvious form of communication...but this is not always possible. So, this also includes pointing, eye contact, body language, hand signals...you name it. And, of course, listening always is an important part of communicating.
So, there you have the 5 ways...practice these at every training session...even if it's just a pickup game. You'll see the difference.
FUN FACTToday's fun fact comes from Kelly Isleib. Kelly told us about the widest street in the world, the Avenida 9th of July...It's located in downtown Buenos Aires...do you know the meaning of the name?
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