We are now in the middle of 2022, it’s currently July and my new website has been online since December 2021. The new look website came with the launch of my Online Ball Mastery Program, ‘5 Famous Baller Moves’ video series, and a new logo. In addition to this, I have established the D10 SKILLSchool, alongside my 1to1, 1to2 and small group coaching sessions. This on top of a new philosophy to Ball Mastery, skills, the art of 1v1 and why it’s important for all players as a fundamental of the game. A lot has happened in between blog posts, with lots of exciting new opportunities and adventures that I can’t wait to delve into, and share with you all.
I hope to continue to use this blog as regularly as possible to express my thoughts, opinions, beliefs and ideas about coaching, skills, ball mastery, futsal, football and my experiences with the world’s greatest game.
I’m going to kick this blog off with a deep dive into my Philosophy, and why I believe Ball Mastery is super important for all developing players, even the goal keeper.
Over the past two years a number of lockdowns and no travel, gave me the opportunity to sit back and think about ‘what is Ball Mastery?’ and ‘How does it apply to the game?’. It’s the age old question and one that can be easily over looked by those who don’t believe in the merits of unopposed practice, or feel it’s “all for the circus”. I started scouring the web, looking for podcasts, articles, quotes, interviews etc that gave a solid reasoning, more so than “this is what they do in Brazil” or “all the great pro’s played street football”. These two quotes, whilst they hold their truths, only apply to certain footballing cultures in my opinion, this is however another blog post entirely. So let’s move on.
I found ‘football4football: It’s your game!’, Saul ‘MyFootballCoach’, interviews with Rene Muelensteen, Simon Clifford, Zeb Jacobs, Michael Beale and content from Tom Byer, Kano Football, Paul Holocher, Peter Prickett 3v3, Coever, Alf Gulstein etc just to name a few. I then started to see how individual ability, technical skills, mastering the ball, street football (however you would like to coin it) had a direct relation to a players Balance, Coordination and ultimately their confidence on the ball. The very core fundamentals of football in my opinion, are eye-foot coordination and balance. This is exactly what Ball Mastery will give a player who works on their close control, ball manipulation, skills combo’s, 1v1 moves etc. This coordination and balance will help a player refine their technique, ultimately giving them more Confidence and then turning into Composure. When players are placed in pressure situations, having the ability on the ball to solve problems, and make better decisions as a result.
Holding the above in mind, the goal of each player should be to retain possession of the ball, until they find a moment where they can effect the game. Retaining possession can look like any of the following, 1) Running with the ball, 2) Shielding the ball, 3) Dribbling, 4) Conducting the ball, 5) Passing the ball, multiple directions with the idea you can ‘play back, to play forward’ as an example. Effecting the game can look like any of the following; 1) pass between lines, 2) through ball, 3) a cross or swtich, long pass, 4) a shot, 5) a dribble to create space for the former, 6) a dribble to beat an immediate opponent 1v1 as an example. I’m sure there is other scenarios I may have missed out, but I’m only trying to build a picture for those who wish to understand ‘Why players need to Master the Ball’. Given the amount of decisions to be made in football, futsal, small-sided football, street football etc at any one time, wouldn’t we want all our players to be coordinated, balanced, confident, composed and relaxed enough to play at speed easily? This is Ball Mastery. In my opinion, you need to be training alone, unopposed and with a high complex moves/skills in order to gain mastery of the ball. This is in addition to playing 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 5v5 etc along with a players regular club training and competitive(challenging) matches.
My new Online Ball Mastery program has come to fruition through the help of some good friends and a tech team, to develop online training videos with the possibility of giving players who live overseas, and who follow my social media channels, a similar experience and opportunity to those players who I coach here in Australia.
The program consists of 8 Ball Mastery Patterns or ‘Skills Combos’. Complete with step-by-step tutorials, each Ball Mastery pattern consisting of 5 moves, how to master each individual move unopposed and then how to put each of these moves into a sequence to form the Ball Mastery pattern. Once the player has become familiar with the moves and technique, they have the option to access the “Training Guide” for progressive practices that will further enhance their Coordination and Balance with the ball at their feet.
Why wouldn’t you work on your Ball Mastery? If you haven’t before, give it a go. I’m certain it will not only improve your technical skills, but also your over all game.
Have a great day!