The benefit of training alone is that it indicates your desire to improve and a commitment to do so. Moreover, it’s nice to train in a squad with some buddies, field position mates, etc.
However, in the process, quite a number of the team members sustain injuries, rendering them incapable of taking part in full-house training. For this reason alone, we often recommend personal training sessions, especially for new players.
Nevertheless, it isn’t always easy to stay motivated when you’re training alone. So, in this article, let’s highlight some practical ways on keeping your good feeling going and your spirit motivated. Additionally, we will show you how to become your own coach!
Let’s dive in!
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How To Practice Soccer By Yourself?
The advantages you accrue by engaging in individual soccer training sessions are immense and unrivaled. One of these is that you have complete control over how much time you spend practicing.
However, the main challenge is that practicing on your own takes self-motivation and dedication. We frequently let ourselves down when there is no coach or expectation from someone else.
As you know, practicing alone offers you privacy. Plus, it also increases your chances of winning, performing well, and attaining your goals. Nevertheless, how can you achieve this self-practice routine?
First, we believe that you must create a Strategy. It may be difficult to summon the motivation to sit down and plan out sessions. However, spending the time to prepare will help you progress more quickly than ever before.
Then, focus and well-planned practices can help you get the most out of each session. It ensures that you don’t overwork yourself, injure yourself, or waste your time at the gym.
Here are ways to get the most out of your solitary soccer training sessions.
1. Get inspired
What is your justification?
Becoming a renowned NFL player is achievable. The only difference between where you are now and your dream field is Skill. Acquiring topnotch football skills can only be by consistent practice.
Getting yourself out of the grip of laziness and procrastination and taking a step to soccer practice can be a hard fight. The most effective mechanism to help you win is inspirational videos.
We have proven motivational videos to be capable of knocking off weariness. You can find many of them online. These videos will stir up determination within you.
2. Start Gradually
Earlier, we stressed the importance of creating goals. Short-term goals (within one month – better yet, one week). When you have a big event coming up on the schedule, you’ll be more motivated to exercise since you know you have to be in top shape by a specific date.
Consider the future and the prospects available in the next three months. Do you have a weekend game planned? Tournament? Tryout? A chance to play against a former coach? Or do you want to impress a new one?
Draft and stick with a plan that gradually and safely raises your exercise level. This will help you stay healthy and pain-free. Take it slowly, especially if you’re new to fitness or changing your exercise routine.
Expect a few weeks of exercise to not make up for several months of inactivity. Your recovery will require regular long-term exercise; and your patience is key to its effectiveness. People who try to accomplish too much frequently become hurt or disappointed and abandon their fitness aspirations.
Use your rest day if it’s scheduled in your calendar; you’ve earned it! Rest days are necessary for the health of your bones, joints, and muscles.
This can help you stay active while recovering from a rigorous workout by relieving muscle tightness. Additionally, mixing up your hobbies assists in building your entire physique, such as swimming, yoga, or strolling.
Post your short-term goals somewhere visible: your phone’s home screen, your computer’s background, the fridge, your bedroom wall, your bathroom mirror, and so on. This is sure to keep you fired up and boost your chance to go through with your scheduled exercise.
3. Consider your previous experiences
We either flee from or seek pleasure while we are in suffering. Both are likely to have happened to you in the past. Therefore, you should aim to make the most of your past experiences.
You might also benefit from terrible prior experiences. Consider a period when you underperformed, made a blunder, were chastised by your coach, benched, ridiculed, or mocked. Or a moment when you felt out of shape, sluggish, foolish, unworthy, and below the game’s tempo.
Additionally, consider a period when you knew you weren’t performing at your best and could have done more (if only you had prepared and practiced more on your own). Think back to how sour you felt at the moment and how you detest returning to that state.
Unless you utilize your previous soccer training experience as an incentive to raise the number, quality, frequency, and consistency of your soccer training, you will retreat to your previous failures.
4. Take advantage of the momentum
Momentum is a tremendous force that can work in your favor or against you. The more sluggish you are, the less you train, and the more vacation days you take, the more challenging it is to change your ways and return to good productive days.
Contrary to popular belief, the more productive you are, the more frequently you train. And the more days (in a row) you train consistently, the easier it is to stay going.
5. Eat healthily and at appropriate times
The importance of having a proper diet for your body’s wellness cannot be overstated. When exercising, don’t restrict your calorie intake too much. Instead, ensure you’re getting enough nutrients by eating lean meats, fruits, and veggies.
It’s critical to research the best diet and nutrition for your training as part of your preparation. Find out what foods and fluids you should consume, in what quantities, and at what times. Aside from your overall health, this helps you stay fit in both mind and body for a longer period.
The good news is that eating and drinking well has both long and short-term benefits. It improves your strength and conditioning in the short term, leading to better long-term results.
6. Condition your mind
Human psychology recognizes that there is usually a lot of energy focused on achieving goals from the outset. But, as the days evolve into weeks and months, fatigue may come very quickly. Your weariness may result from doing so much or as a result of unexplainable disinterest.
Warm-ups
Practicing soccer will require you to expend a huge chunk of your energy; this is why you need to warm up before your drills. Another reason why a warm-up is essential is to avoid detrimental injuries. The third reason is to alert your senses that a training session will begin.
Anything that elevates your body temperature and causes you to sweat, such as running or riding a bike, should be effective.
When Cristiano Ronaldo goes to the gym, his main activity consists of cardiovascular training (such as jogging and rowing) and weight lifting. As he claims, you can conduct an abs workout in your bedroom when you get up in the morning or before going to bed. A consistent routine will eventually evolve into a habit.
Make it enjoyable
Making sure that the drills you plan are enjoyable to complete is the best way to keep yourself motivated. While you will undoubtedly have to sweat and suffer at times, putting in the effort will be much easier if you enjoy what you do.
Listening to a playlist of electronic dance high-tempo trap music can also help you feel more energized. These beats will keep you motivated and energized. Music adds to the ‘fun’ factor of your workout while also helping you stay focused.
7. Consult your coach
Additionally, it’s ideal to speak with your coach before beginning your week of solo training. Find out what areas they believe you should focus on to improve your game. It demonstrates your commitment to improvement and aids in the planning of your focused training.
Given that your coach will be necessarily present at your every game, they evaluate your whole performance and provide honest feedback. This will assist both of you in determining the type of training you require to develop your talents.
A loved one or team coach can provide you with the encouragement and motivation you need to keep going. Still, your coach will help you build the confidence you need to overcome various challenges, even if it requires forcing you out of your comfort zone.
They may provide you with some drills to practice or pointers on organizing your training sessions.
8. Watch professionals play
Following news articles and watching live streams to keep an eye on the players, practice for soccer, and learn new ideas to improve your skills can also be beneficial!
There are several productive reasons to watch soccer. You can do it for the fun and excitement of the game, or you can do it to feel satisfied as a supporter of a team or player(s). Plus, you can also watch to learn by studying techniques and tactics in detail.
While it’s enjoyable to simply watch the game for entertainment, you should engage it with a purpose if you want to learn. First, concentrate on a player or players who play your position. Record games and then use the pause and (or) rewind buttons when you have the opportunity.
Predict what will happen next. Examine what you’ve seen. Consider what other choices the players could have made. Make a mental note of everything. What you see should be discussed, analyzed, and shared with others.
Choose players from various teams and compare them to yourself. While it may seem obvious to follow the ball when watching, don’t forget to keep an eye on your player(s) when they’re not on the ball.
After all, we know that a player is without the ball for about 80% to 90% of the game. Nonetheless, the various movements during that time are an important part of playing greatness.
9. Practice drills
Honestly, many practice drills don’t require you to go to a soccer field; you can do them at home. You can find a perfect time after school or on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
We have included some of our favorite soccer drills for at-home practice here:
Juggling
Start by flicking the ball up from the ground with your feet or using your hands to juggle. Once you’ve got the ball up in the air, attempt to remember the following juggling tips:
At all times, keep the ball spinning back towards you. This will result in the ball remaining in the exact location of your body. While you’re getting started, let the ball bounce on the ground between touches.
Use different portions of your body and other parts of your foot, and both feet. Keep track of your juggling record, which is the number of juggles you can do before the ball falls to the ground.
You need to bear in mind the fact that in a real soccer game, you won’t be “juggling.” Nevertheless, this is an effective individual drill because it simulates the skills you’ll need in a real game.
Toe-Touches
Begin this drill by placing your dominant foot on the ball (toes and upper part of foot). After then, pull your dominant foot off the ball and replace it with your other foot. Repeat this process until you’ve developed a rhythm. Between touches, the ball should not move.
You can put in numerous other toe-touch exercises as you continue to add more difficulty to the practice. Why bother with this type of workout when the soccer ball isn’t even moving? The goal of this drill, though, is to improve body control with the ball.
Shooting and passing
You can set up target practice and work on your accuracy, whether you’re passing or shooting. You can always work on your accuracy independently, whether you draw with chalk on the wall or hang a t-shirt on a fence.
As previously said, this will be useful for both shooting and passing. It focuses on your accuracy, which will always be beneficial to you. Everyone enjoys shooting on goal, so don’t waste time training with a stationary ball, such as a free kick. In a match, this nearly never happens.
Do not practice shooting a ball that is still inside 18 yards, as there is no such thing as a free-kick inside the 18-yard box from which you can score (except a penalty). When practicing shooting, keep the ball moving. Let’s see some examples:
Shooting from the side
While it’s more enjoyable to do this with a companion, you can do it yourself; all you need is a goal. So, practice shooting it from the side at your local field or school.
This workout can help you improve your shot from anywhere on the field and is a great way to keep your shooting realistic.
One-touch shooting
By adopting one-touch shooting, you will minimize the hesitating element. Hesitation is a common cause of shot failure or misses, and practicing this technique can help you push the shot through with one touch. You must alter your body and your head and feet to master this shot.
Wall passes
This drill, also known as wall juggling, is one of the best soccer workouts to do at home. This activity requires you to stand one to three yards away from a wall – one that does not lead to the apartment of a harsh neighbor. Then, practice juggling the ball while also training your reflexes.
This drill entails you backing the wall at a reasonable distance. After which, you will kick the ball back and forth against the wall. It’s critical to maintain your body relaxed and use all portions of your foot when performing this workout.
Push-pull
Another excellent soccer drill you can work on at home is push-pull. This is a dribbling-specific workout that focuses on the muscles in your foot that help you dribble more effectively.
This is a workout routine that requires you to continuously shuffle the ball from your toes to your heel and then back to your toe. This is a fantastic at-home exercise that you can practice every day for the best results, and all you need are your feet.
Toe taps (also known as stair-stepping)
This drill is a balancing and stamina exercise that you can do daily. This is because you will place the ball in front of you while placing your foot on it, then switch feet as if ascending steps.
Rollover dribble
You may improve your dribbling skills by doing a rollover dribble. Pushing the ball with your foot at home is a terrific activity to try.
It’s a small gesture, but it will aid your balance and concentration. You can do a minimum of 100 touches on the rollover dribble each day. As a result, you’ll soon be able to turn the ball over on defense despite your opponents’ pressure.
Being a skilled dribbler is fantastic for escaping pressure and moving the ball up the field, but it’s not a license to keep the ball for too long. Remember that passing is the quickest and most efficient way to move the ball up the field while you improve your dribbling skills.
The clock
To execute this drill, you simply need a collection of three random objects (Cones preferably). You will set them in front, behind, right, and left from your current position. Plus, you’ll notice that it’s a clock, with the things at 12, 3, 6, and 9, and you’re right in the middle of it.
Then, sprint to the object ahead of you and then return to the center, repeating the process with each cone, whirling clockwise with vigor. Run forwards to the object, then backward, and sideways to the sides, touching each cone.
Jogging
Sprinting of various lengths, fast stops and starts, turning, and jumping are required in soccer. To practice, all of these actions and moves, create a training regimen for yourself that incorporates anything from long-distance jogging to sprinting to leaping squats.
Then, to get your feet and legs acclimated to controlling the ball while exhausted, which is how you’ll feel during a 90-minute game, finish the program before working on your footwork.
Trapping the ball
This drill only requires a ball and some open space. Working on bringing the ball down to the ground after throwing it up in the air. Allow the ball to bounce for a few moments before controlling it.
Make use of both feet and different parts of your feet. You can use this technique to practice catching the ball with other body parts. Your goal is to stop the ball and trap it as near your feet as possible while maintaining control.
Conclusion
Most athletes flaunt their excellent skills to impress the coach in a team practice. In the bid to be outstanding, you avoid working out skills you are poor at.
However, your private training space should offer time to work on your less-excellent skills, such as drills that strengthen your weak foot and enhance your shooting. When you practice alone, you enjoy the liberty to make mistakes and get back to figuring out corrections with no pressure or judgment.
Hi there, I’m Jay.
Soccer is everything in my life! My friends and I have created this blog with all our enthusiasm, passion, and understanding after years of playing pro soccer. Hope you will enjoy it!