At Ultimate Soccer we want to help you breathe soccer better than ever, and we all know that in order to get better at soccer, one must work hard, and put in the work outside team practices. Individual training is a major part of growing your game as a soccer player, and if you aren’t able to get individual training with someone, training by yourself can be a major boost in your soccer career. Whether you are waiting to crack the starting eleven at your club team, get more playing time as a crucial substitute in your school team, or just want to improve your skills, below are a few way you can craft your soccer skills all by yourself.

1) Juggling

Sure, juggling alone isn’t going to make you the next Messi, but it can surely make you a much better player. Juggling is an essential part of the sport, and by perfecting it you will get better with your touch on the ball. If you are comfortable with the ball, you can create magic on the pitch when your team needs you. Juggling will help you control the ball, and if you can control the ball by yourself, you’ll gain the confidence you need to show your skills on the training pitch with your teammates. Try to catch the ball on top of your foot and then start juggling again, this will also help you get more comfortable with the ball.

2) Trapping

Kick the soccer ball as high as you can under control, if you have to make a quick little sprint, that’s okay. When the ball is coming down, use the laces of your cleats to bring the ball to the ground. Make sure that while you are settling the ball, you don’t bounce high off your foot.This is where your juggling skills will come in handy as you feel comfortable around the ball and can manipulate it to stay on your foot. The ball should not bounce away from you, and you should be able to make a move with your next step; this is really the key because you are keeping the ball close and will be able to play quick.

3) Dribbling

As simple as it seems, dribbling is a great skill to work on by yourself. When dribbling, you need to be able to think a couple of plays ahead. You need to be able to push the ball into a space where you can get the ball and the defender can’t. When dribbling, work on keeping your eyes up and in front of you, rather than staring down at the ball.

Stop by Ultimate Soccer Store and get some cones to perfect your dribbling. Put them a few steps from each other and zig-zag through them while controlling the ball. Before you start the exercise, try trapping the ball like in step two and make your next step the zig-zag cones.

4) Passing

Passing is an essential part of the game, we all know this, yet not all of us know how to do it well. One simple way to practice your passing accuracy is by grabbing a cone and placing it a few yards from you and try to pass it to the cone as accurately as possible. This is crucial because every inch in this exercise matters, if you don’t hit the cone, you can be putting your teammate in danger of going into a 50/50 challenge.

When you perfect the pass from a few yards out, keep pushing the cone back until you are comfortably hitting marks from about 40 yards out. From there, combine the previous 3 exercises into one. Juggle for a few steps, kick the ball high in the air to trap it with your foot, dribble for a few yards and then pass the ball to the cone from about 40 yards out, with accuracy.

If you work on these simple training exercises in your backyard, as well as practice with your club team, you will become a better soccer player. Soccer players aren’t born, they are made. Working hard to achieve your soccer goals is essential in any level of the game. Even Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had to get the basics of the sport down before becoming the best players in the world.

Keep working hard, and remember, all the equipment you may need in your backyard training, cones, balls, goals, can all be found here at www.ultimatesoccerstore.com or in our store in Boca Raton, Florida!