Author: Charles Richard Cotton
| charles Cotton |
| Calgary, Canada |
Charles Richard Cotton is an internationally licensed expert specializing in teaching kids 7-17 how to unleash their own Soccer Genius - for on and off field success. He has over 30 years experience playing, coaching, and leading soccer communities. His accelerated training methods and unique soccer "Mind, Body, Heart and Spirit" approach help players and coaches achieve their highest levels of play and personal development. Charles lives in Calgary, Canada with his 3 beautiful daughters.
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The Soccer Genius Blog A Source for Long Term Player Development
Browsing Archive: August, 2010
A different type of 'football' inspires this weeks media recommendation - American football. This video highlights one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. The humour and unbelievable outcome capture the genius "NEVER QUIT" spirit brilliantly.
Enjoy!
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Phil Jackson is one of the greatest team builders and player managers in the history of sport. He holds several coaching records in the NBA. His writings are inspiring and part of my required reading list for aspiring Soccer Genius coaches. Learn from a Master. Read Phil's book.
Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior - Phil Jackson
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Anson Dorrance is arguably the most successful soccer coach in history. Period! His book, Vision of a Champion, is a must read for coaches, parents and later-stage developing players. Anson is one of the early Soccer Genius pioneers and I highly recommend his book.
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This week's recommendation is an amazing video compilation of goals from one of the world's all-time great Soccer Geniuses - Ronaldhino. Simply enjoy the brilliance and then spend time visualizing (imagining on purpose in your mind's eye) yourself doing these very same skills. It's a success habit of all developing Soccer Geniuses.
Enjoy the magic!
Ronaldhino's Top 10 Goals Continue reading ...
Today's recommendation is written more for a business audience, however, the lessons and values are immediately and universally applicable to sports. Jon Huntsman is definitely a Soccer Genius in the making!
Winners Never Cheat - Even in Difficult Times
by Jon M. Huntsman
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Here's a book that has inspired many a genius action in recent years. I give it a strong recommendation for those of you looking to find deeper meaning in the game we call Life.  The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman Enjoy! |
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Love Being You
BEING 100% YOU is probably the trickiest part about being human. The world is full of impulses, messages and subtle (and not so subtle) teachings telling us to be like "________".
Too often, the "_____" is either completely opposite of who we really are or very far from what we genuinely aspire to be. We end up not knowing who, what or how we're 'supposed to be' and we certainly don't seem to be loving ourselves for being who we are.
For fun, take a pen and paper and list off a... Continue reading ...
Two Foot Power Throw-In | - Get into a comfortable and grounded Genius Ready stance (see previous issues for that one) with a ball held in between the open palms and fingers of both hands at stomach height.
- Breathing relaxed.
- Make sure your feet feel strong yet spring loaded on the ground.
- Eyes focused straight ahead at an imaginary target.
- Bring the ball up and over the top of your head, touching it to the top center of your back.
- Arch backwards at the hips creating a bow shape to your body, b...
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Books have the ability to inspire us to new heights of awareness and transform our experience of everyday life. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one such book. I highly recommend it.
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"...no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream."
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I realized just how important it was (and is) to begin training the mind and heart of the young player when I was first creating the Soccer Genius long-term development model. Far too often I saw very talented athletes fall by the wayside because they either lacked strong self-belief or they were not getting enough positive encouragement on and off the field. I became increasingly determined to start turning this trend around.
It was quite a moment of synchronicity when the 'solution' came to... Continue reading ...
Be patient with yourself
The mind loves to race far into the future - completing projects we haven't even started, growing up into the next decade of our life, developing countless 'what if' scenarios - the list goes on and on. Let's face it, the mind is tremendously challenged with living right now.
This makes being patient with ourselves very tricky indeed. But be patient we must.
We cannot miraculously leap past the stages of development that make us human. We cannot by convenience skip t... Continue reading ...
Thigh Receiving (Trapping)
| - Get into a comfortable and grounded Genius Ready stance (see previous issues for that one) with a ball in your hands.
- Breathing relaxed.
- Throw the ball up 1-2 meters above your head.
- Eyes focused on the bottom area of the ball that you want to receive with your thigh.
- Bring your thigh up to 90 degrees with bent knee (like a chair shape) as the ball begins to fall
- Try to catch the ball on the middle of your thigh by gently cushioning down your thigh with a slight b...
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I love when people do amazing tricks with balls. This week's recommended media is a short video of a man named Tim Nolan from the USA who can do some pretty darn genius tricks with a ball or two (or 9). Click below and enjoy!
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Okay folks! You've asked for it and I'm giving it to you. You wanted to know just what goes into the SGT training Levels One and Accelerated One programs. Here's the skinny on what the players will get.
- Mandatory equal playing and practice time
- In-House league competition with a focus on individual skill success and 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 play. (Players do not register with other leagues or clubs because SGT has it all in-house - under one roof, with no rain outs or weather closures.)
- Tracking of play...
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Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Kneeling Hand Taps
The Soccer Genius Training System ensures all players learn and practice goalkeeping skills. This includes mastering use of the hands on the ball.
This week's challenge comes from the Level One book and focuses on Kneeling Hand Taps, as follows:
1. Get into a Goalie Kneeling Ready Stance with weight balanced on the knees, body ... |
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Accept Who You Are
You are the only you that you can be. You cannot be anyone else. Accept it.
This can be hard. Our minds like to compare everything and enjoy the preoccupation with thinking about the past and the uncertain future.
Are you spending time trying to be someone else's idea or vision of who you are? Do you wish you were less like 'you' and more like 'someone' else?
I encourage you to spend the week ahead accepting all of who you are - the 'good' and the 'bad', the 'beautiful' an... Continue reading ...
Breathing Mastery
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Proper breathing technique is an essential human skill and is incredibly important for athletes. Surprisingly, it is practically NEVER taught to developing soccer players. As a result, many players are unconsciously learning incorrect breathing habits that are affecting their on-field performances and ability to realize their full athletic capacity.
Thankfully these habits can be corrected fairly quickly with consistent and technically correct practice, as follows:
Preparing ... |
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We live in a fascinating time of personal growth and development. So-called "self-help" sections of bookstores and internet sites have literally exploded in the last 20 years. The vast majority of these books and programs are targeted toward adults going through some sort of career, health or life transition. And a great deal of them are chalk full of tools and techniques to 're-align' one's thinking - particularly the B.S. (belief systems ;) that are running amok in the mental background of ... Continue reading ...
Self-competition is one of the hallmarks of the Soccer Genius Training programs. 7 and 8 year old developing players (Level 1 SGT) start to compete 'against, with and for' themselves through a series of ongoing personal challenges. How many juggles can they do in 30 seconds? How far can they fingertip focus dribble without looking at the ball? What rules have they mastered this week? Can they beat there best score to date? The list goes on and on (and on) throughout the 11 levels of the progr... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:
HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Rest and Integrate
The Soccer Genius Training System ensures all players learn and practice the skill of resting during their long-term development.
Spend time this week doing something that you want to do that you think is totally unrelated to soccer training. You can review (but don't do) the previous HomeSkills Challenges and even juggle ... |
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Rest after 6 weeks of effort
Resting is something that is highly undervalued in most western industrialized countries around the world. In fact, its easy to say that rest is actually frowned upon as a sign up laziness or some perceived weakness. This is not only unfortunate, it is actually highly unproductive in the long-term learning and development cycle; in soccer and in most areas of life.
A person's body, mind, heart and spirit need time to integrate the learning and experiences accumulat... Continue reading ...
Laces Rhythm Juggling
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Learning to juggle is one of the most exhilarating parts of soccer. It can also be incredibly challenging and even frustrating as we go through the often steep learning curves and plateaus of juggling with both feet. Juggling mastery, though, often sets apart the 'good' players and the 'genius' players. This vital soccer skillset impacts so many areas of success on the field: concentration, first touch, receiving, fakes and feints as well as overall confidence and heads... |
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Building Soccer Literacy is one of the cornerstone goals of any great long-term player development program.
What exactly does Soccer Literacy mean though? Good question, and one that more and more soccer clubs and programs need to start asking. Let's break the term down for greater clarity.
First, the Soccer part.
Just kidding. At this point I'm working with the belief that everyone reading this article has a pretty clear understanding of soccer; what it is, how it's played, some of its his... Continue reading ...
Long-term success in soccer requires the developing athlete to make second nature a whole host of movement skills. I've identified 26 "fundamental" skills that I include in every part of the Soccer Genius Training system and programs. Levels 1 through 6 of the Youth Genius Development Program are chalk full of all these fundamentals.
The following list is the exact one I use when helping young athletes succeed at all positions in soccer. The developing player must be educated and experienced... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Wall Passes with Sole Trap Switch
Passing the ball to yourself against a wall is one of the best ways to develop your touch and perfect kicking form.
Try this following challenge. All you need is a firm wall in a safe area, a ball, a bit of tape (optional) and a 'can-do' attitude .
1. Place a ball 3-4 steps away from a wall.
2. Optional focus tool:... |
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Learn from a Master
The term 'Master' has a number of definitions and connotations. I'm using the term Master in the following way:
To refer to a person who is so exceptionally capable in some work, profession, science or calling that they have achieved the highest degree of skill.
History has given us a host of truly gifted Masters in all areas of life: Athletics, Music, Mathematics, Language, Philosophy, Architecture, Art - the list goes on. We continue to benefit from and enjoy their great... Continue reading ...
Each week in this section I include a detailed description of a specific technical skill or ability. This information is offered to help you achieve technical mastery through perfect practice. After all, if you're going to practice you might as well do it perfectly!
This week's Genius Tech Tip is a guideline of HOW TO practice as opposed to WHAT TO practice. When we learn to master the HOW the WHAT often becomes secondary and mastery flows with less effort.
Eight Perfect Practices
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When commi... |
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The scene is repeated literally thousands of times a day everywhere around the world:
Kids playing an organized game, decked out in their league sponsored gear, coaches yelling on the sidelines (mostly encouraging words), parents yelling and cheering from the sidelines - the "FOR" and "AGAINST" sides clearly marked out within their territory, referees plying their trade (sometimes without complaint from the sidelines), goals being scored, skills being practiced and mastered, the "oohs" and "a... Continue reading ...
This is a great question. Unfortunately, it's rarely asked of the people that can give the clearest answers - the players themselves!
This is not a question for grown-ups to be answering for children, as is often the case when leagues and teams are formed, rules are created and enforced and the 'business' of youth sports takes over. Academics, programmers and analysts, though often very well intentioned, tend to miss the boat when it comes to creating games and long-term development models of... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Chair Sit Sole Rolls With Power Pad Stops
This weeks challenge helps train first and multiple touch while strengthening the core muscle groups and major leg muscles.
You'll need:
- A chair that gives you a 90 to 110 degree angle at your knees when you're sitting with your feet flat on the floor.
- A ball.
- A safe area of 4 x 4 ft (1.3 square meters)
- A f...
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Celebrate all successes!
I have found that it is extremely important to record, recognize and celebrate the success of each player at every step of the development process. This can often be as simple as a 'high-five' for a newly learned skill or a check on the Soccer Genius Development Chart when a goal is achieved. Keeping a success record for the players (and having them keep one as well) trains their brains to be prepared for and expect success - on and off the field - and for it to becom... Continue reading ...
The Soccer Genius Ready Stance
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One of the missing elements of most developmental sports programs is learning the correct postures and stances that are the foundations of long-term technical and artistic excellence. Think of how many young players you see standing either hunched over or straight as a board when they are waiting for the play to come their way again.
A major part of all Soccer Genius Training is learning the best stances and postures that contribute to on-field readiness and pur... |
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Players best succeed in an environment that clearly sets and encourages the achievement of realistic goals. It's important and fun to pattern goal-setting at an early age. I encourage you to take it one step further by working with the principle of 'goals within goals'. Let's have a look at how I do this in the Soccer Genius Training programs, beginning with Level One for the 7 and 8 year old players.
Level One players have a dozen 'big' goals that they are working toward throughout the cours... Continue reading ...
Soccer (football) is seeing an unprecedented growth both in global popularity and organized development programs for youth players. Many national soccer programs are starting to consider or adapt long-term player development models, which is encouraging. Unfortunately, many are setting themselves up for long-term failure because of their choice of the end goal of their programs. Local teams, clubs and leagues that are following the national program lead are also likely to experience very mixe... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Rules Mastery
The Soccer Genius Training System ensures all players learn, practice and master the Laws of the Game (in every internationally governed area of soccer, including Beach Soccer and Futsal plus the International Soccer Genius Association rules).
This week's 3 part challenge is a combination of several levels of training in the ... |
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Each week I provide a Genius Success Habit for you to practice perfectly for the next 7 days. If you're already doing the habit, then keep on keeping on!
And did you know that practicing the habit everyday for at least 42 days will give you a far greater likelihood of making it a permanent success habit.
Some habits are harder to practice and make part of our life than others. Some are guaranteed to push a few buttons, as well.
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| This week's Genius Success Habit
Lose Victoriously
Soccer an... |
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Each week in this section I include a detailed description of a specific technical skill or ability. This information is offered to help you achieve technical mastery through perfect practice. After all, if you're going to practice you might as well do it perfectly!
The Rabona Kick (advanced Genius Level 8)
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I witnessed the most beautiful goal I had seen in a very long time during a coach scrimmage game at my International License training in England. A Brazilian friend executed a perfect Rabo... |
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Cheating is when a person misleads, deceives, or acts dishonestly either on purpose or as a learned (subconscious) pattern of behaviour for one's own gains.
I have yet to meet a person in my 41 years who has not cheated at least once in their life. I know that I have and I know that I still do. Every time I go for the ice cream instead of water when I'm hungry (most hunger aches are signs of dehydration not food hunger) I know I'm cheating myself out of what's best for my well-being. Likewis... Continue reading ...
The pledge of every Soccer Genius Coach, Trainer and Ambassador. Equal Playing Time is a guaranteed feature of all Soccer Genius Programs.
Excerpt taken from Andy Barney's brilliant book "Training Soccer Legends", with permission.
It takes tremendous courage to commit to an equal playing time approach in every game. Yet this is the only way to ensure that both your better and weaker players learn the right lessons for life from their youth soccer career. The weaker players learn they are valu... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:
HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
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Balls in the Bucket
Challenge yourself to this fun one! You'll need a soccer ball (the smaller the better) and a container twice as wide and twice as deep as the ball. A bucket or small laundry basket are excellent choices.
- Stand 2 big steps away from the bucket.
- Ball placed in front of one foot.
- Toe flick the ball into the bucket.
- Smile, yes smi...
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Each week I provide a Genius Success Habit for you to practice perfectly for the next 7 days. If you're already doing the habit, then keep on keeping on!
And did you know that practicing the habit everyday for at least 42 days will give you a far greater likelihood of making it a permanent success habit.
Some habits are harder to practice and make part of our life than others. Some are guaranteed to push a few buttons, as well.
| This week's Genius Success Habit
Make friends with the ball. Make... |
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Each week in this section I include a detailed description of a specific technical skill or ability. This information is offered to help you achieve technical mastery through perfect practice. After all, if you're going to practice you might as well do it perfectly!
The Railroad Track Goalkeeper Pick Up & Treasure Chest Hold
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Learning to pick up and safely secure a rolling or ground level ball is a 'must have' skill for all young soccer geniuses. Players begin to master this technique right aw... |
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Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy! 
VIDEO:Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #10 - for Soccer Parents Part 2 Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy!
VIDEO: Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #9 - for Soccer Parents Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy! 
VIDEO:Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #8 - Biological Age and Chronological Age of Players Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy!
VIDEO:
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy! 
VIDEO:
Youth Soccer Training Tips #6 - Soccer Genius or Soccer Dummy
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Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy!
VIDEO:
Calgary Indoor Soccer Training Tips #5 - Learn to Play Every Position Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy! 
VIDEO: Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #4 by Soccer Genius - Walk with the ball Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy!
VIDEO: Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #3 by Soccer Genius - How far will you go to win? Continue reading ...
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy! 
VIDEO: Calgary Youth Soccer Training Tips #2 by Soccer Genius - Keep It Soccer Specific Continue reading ...
Better Out Than In #1
Charles' weekly video clip highlighting an area of youth training, play and/or development that is in need of some serious updating. At the end of the day, it's better to get it out than to keep it in. Enjoy!
VIDEO: Youth Soccer Training Tips #1 by Soccer Genius - Safe Heading of the ball
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Let's face it. The majority of player development and team/position placement is left to a combination of 'who is coaching', 'who do you know' and the opinions (and sadly sometimes the politics) of team and club officials . Young players are often left wondering "what am I actually learning" and "how am I going to get the skills to play better?". They have no clear path to follow to improve and achieve their personal soccer dreams. The result of this lack of clarity is often seen on youth tea... Continue reading ...
Great question - and a fun one to explore, too!
A Soccer Genius is any person that consistently achieves surpassing excellence in one or many parts of the game. This can be a player, a coach, a fan, an official, a parent or an administrator. Age is not a factor - nor is race, gender or ethnicity - in defining a Soccer Genius.
The Soccer Genius goes beyond originality, creativity or intelligence and enters the realm of insight and brilliance that has a transformational power on the game - both... Continue reading ...
In last week's article "Benchmarking for Success", I talked about the Soccer Genius Benchmark System that I've created. The purpose of this system is to give players, coaches, parents and clubs an objective picture of a player's current skills, knowledge, and overall development in relation to established standards of soccer and athletic excellence.
The great news is that developing Soccer Genius players have a much clearer path to follow because they now have clearly defined goals to shoot f... Continue reading ...
This needs to be the mantra of every 7-13 year old soccer player! (Very quickly followed by "No more laps, lines or full-side games!" but that's another story ;D .)
And coaches, trainers and sports educators need to listen.
The window of opportunity for the developing players to master the essential technical skills is much smaller and sooner than many might think. By far the most important "window of optimal trainability" for technical skills is between the ages of 7 and 13 (some argue 8-12... Continue reading ...
Weekly challenges for you to do at home. Taken from Charles' groundbreaking Book Series:
HomeSkills Magic: The Soccer Genius HomePlay System
Beginning Ball Balance Mastery
Challenge yourself to balance a tennis ball or size one soccer ball on the top surface of your foot for 30 seconds in each of the following positions:
- Kneeling on one knee
- Sitting on your bottom
- Sitting on a chair
- Standing.
- Standing eyes closed
- Standing eyes closed and ears covered.
Be sure to complete the challenge with each fo... Continue reading ...
Each week I'll provide a Genius Success Habit for you to practice perfectly for the next 7 days. If you're already doing the habit, then keep on keeping on! Practicing it everyday for at least 42 days gives you a far greater likelihood of making it a permanent success habit.
Some habits are harder to practice and make part of our life than others. Some are guaranteed to push a few buttons, as well.
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| This week's Genius Success Habit
Pledge to take 100% responsibility for your own soccer (a... |
Continue reading ...
Each week in the section I will be including a detailed description of a specific technical skill or ability. This information is offered to help you achieve technical mastery through perfect practice. After all, if you're going to practice you might as well do it perfectly!
Chest Trap Mastery - The Quick-In-Breath Way
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The chest trap is arguably one of the harder ones for developing players to master. There's the fear of getting hurt combined with the uncertainty and lack of practice of perfe... |
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