You Must REALLY Practice to Improve

What?! Yes, to develop a skill and get better at something you want to do well, you must practice. Although this is not an earth shattering revelation, it is easy to see the complacency in players at practice due to the perception that improvement “just happens” over time. By just showing up to practice, improvement is guaranteed, right? This is how most players view training and a reason why improvement does not come for many. In short, if you really want to improve, you must do more than just show up to practice. Instead, you must have a focused approach with a consistent effort to take on different challenges to see consistent gains over time.

If you watch a standard training session and pay attention to what players are doing in each activity, it very quickly becomes clear that many players do not seem that interested in getting better at the skill they are practicing. It looks like they are passing the time until the next activity starts or just going through the motions with little attention to what is being done.

I have asked players during a training session, “Who wants to improve their ability to pass the ball?” All players normally raise their hand indicating it is something they want to do. But then I ask, “How many of you think you are giving enough effort and are focused on getting better at passing?” Normally with this question, most hands drop except for a few players who normally are the ones who are putting in the needed effort and focus to improve that area of their game.

Let’s talk about effort and focus. What do those words really mean? Coaches need to make sure that we are using them correctly, and players must understand what is really being asked when coaches want effort and focus.

Effort is defined as a vigorous or determined attempt. Focus is defined as a center of interest or activity. Put those two words together, for a player to be showing effort and focus the player would need to be making a vigorous attempt to do something he is exclusively focused on. How many players do you know do that in training? Probably only few, but it is probably the players who show the strongest desire to train and get better, and over time show the most growth in their love for the game and ability to play it.

To really be practicing, a player must show effort and focus during each activity and game. When doing so, the player will make the most out of every training session and time spent with the ball. Often, this type of effort and focus is seen as a very serious and no-fun way to practice. In my mind, it should be the exact opposite. Practice cannot be too serious and it needs to be fun. When there is good effort and focus, it allows practice to be more enjoyable for everyone involved. Normally, when there is a lack of focus and effort, it is when practice feels forced, drawn out, and insignificant.

Although coaches are responsible for planning and executing a well organized training session, the players must be willing and wanting to improve their skills. As mentioned above, I believe all players want to get better, BUT I do not think many players really understand what is necessary for that to happen. Again, there is a belief that just being there, present at training, will in itself help the player improve. Simply, this is just not the case. It takes more than just showing up to training. It takes a player to be an active participant in the training and give the effort and focused needed to improve.

When talking about effort and focus, it needs to be kept in the context of the age group and level of players a coach is working with. Obviously effort and focus look a lot different at a U8 training session than it does at a U16 training session. The environment of practice is different, the goals are different, and the approach by both the players and the coach is different. But, there should still be effort and focus. It is a very different level and type of effort and focus in each group and the length of time it can be maintained varies.

For the coaches, in order to help with effort and focus, it needs to be clear WHY a player is working on something. With any aspect of the game worked on in training, the players must understand WHY they are working on this skill and HOW it will help them improve their ability to play the game. Why is passing important? How will being able to use my left foot help me be better? To coaches, the answers are obvious, but the answers are not as clear for the players. When there is improvement, it needs to be recognized immediately so the player sees the result of the effort given. Improvement does not mean “done perfectly” or without mistakes, so it requires the coach to point out how the player fixed a part of their game.

Players can be taught how to practice this way and this is another key role for the coach. If the coach does not pay attention to the details of the training session and the performance of the players, the players will show the same lack of attention to the things that are important. When the coach is constantly making sure the small, important things, are being done correctly, the players quickly understand how important those actions (which may seem insignificant to them) are to their improvement as players (and people).

It needs to be recognized when practice is useful or not useful for a player. All players are different and some want and do practice more than others. It is better that a player spends one hour practicing while being fully focused and giving a lot of effort rather than practicing for three hours without any effort or focus. More practice does not mean more results…it does not directly equate to getting better. Practice, with a high level of effort and focus, with an emphasis on doing things correctly, making required corrections, and recognizing growth is more likely to help a player improve. The amount of time a player should practice is a personal decision. All players have different goals and ambition in regards to the game. It means something different to each player. When a player does devote time (at training or on their own) to practice, just practicing is not enough. There needs to be strong effort and focus from start to finish to get the most out of each minute. To get better you must REALLY practice, not just be at practice.