Method 1 of 6: Have a Passion for the Game
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Always have a target. Hunt's quote above makes clear; the initial, most important start is to have a passion for the game. It is this love for the game that will drive you through your quest to become a professional soccer player, and beyond if you are successful, pushing you through the negative and doubting moments. It must be something that you want to do, not something that is expected of you, or that you feel obliged to do because of someone else's dream. If it's your passion, your love for soccer will sustain you through the knock-backs and hard times (of which there will be plenty) to enable you to get back up again and keep trying.Ad
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Know soccer inside out. From the start to the end, learn as much about the game as you can. This means learning from books, watching matches, training,watching DVDs, participating in matches, and talking to good soccer players about their tactics and the things that they have found most or least successful as they have climbed the ranks. Have a solid understanding of what famous soccer players have done to succeed, including their signature moves. For starters, here are some relevant wikiHow articles on football:
Method 2 of 6: Start Early & Stay Committed1
Commit to playing football through graduated levels. Choose a school team, local club, or district team that you can attend regularly and that has a good coach. Each country, state, or region will have its own club or team expectations and progression levels, so it is not possible to be precise about the process itself in this article. However, what you should be aiming to do is:- Start playing as young as possible. Shift to playing in organized youth teams some time between the ages of 5 and 14.
- Get your parents or other adults and even friends to play soccer with you as much as possible.
- Continue with youth teams every year, progressing to more competitive and selective teams every change up, playing with older youth than your age group if possible (playing "up a level" or "up an age group").
- Train regularly and get involved in organized games as early as possible. Try to get into matches and tournaments that represent your school, region, state or country at youth level.
- Attend training camps as early as possible. If your club or association of clubs offers training camps, summer camps, etc., make use of these. You'll feed off the enthusiasm and lots of competitiveness of other players and you'll learn a lot in an intense, short period of time.
- Look for professional developmental programs and see how you can become a part of these. Ask your coach or club mentors for advice on what's available through your club, or generally.
- Eventually, move from youth teams to scholastic and collegiate teams, and then to amateur and semi-professional level teams and clubs. It isn't until you've played against seniors that you know you're ready for the professional circuit, so keep climbing the levels gradually.[4] If you're in the USA, aim to get into a college that has a top soccer program in place.
Method 3 of 6: Excel in Every Way1
Be prepared for hard work and be patient. Being the best comes at the price of dedicated hard work but if your single focus is to be a professional soccer player, this hard work is essential. Aiming for the professional level also requires patience - being able to accept that turning professional is a gradual process during which you continue to learn, to build your technical skills, soccer knowledge, and importantly, making good contacts with other people (networking).- As a player wanting to become the best, you will need to dedicate time to practising almost every single day (at least 5-6 days a week). Whatever the weather, you'll need to keep practising, all the while probably balancing studies or even part-time work. It is the practice, the daily dedication, that will develop your talent, and hone your skills the best.
- As was said before, train individually. Even when you're not at the club, practice your skills individually, or with friends and family members, preferably getting good experience with older players as many times as possible. Aim to improve your technical ability at all times. Work with the ball until everything you do with it seems like second nature.[5] Work on your weaker skills too, in order to strengthen your overall skills-set and adaptability.
- As a parent of a child seeking to become a professional player, your own level of dedication must be enormous - from transporting your child to games (including interstate and overseas), buying football gear, membership fees, etc., talking with coaches, helping with informal practice sessions, boosting your child's morale, etc. You might even up coaching youth soccer!
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Be exceptional. After you've had a chance to play for a while, it's time to start seriously looking at your skills. Find out what position your innate skills are best suited to. When working this out, don't just think about yourself but also think about how your skills feed into your teamwork, and how your strengths fit into the game as a whole. Ultimately, it is important that you are really good at what you do because there is a lot of competition and there isn't any room for second best.- Seek your coach's honest opinion about your strengths and your chances, and learn from your coach's suggestions about possible ways to improve or hone your natural talent.
- Be a top performer in the level that you're playing at now. If you're not, make an honest assessment as to whether you can improve this, or if you need to shift to a different position, or perhaps even remain at amateur level.
- Prove that you're good in games. This means consistent proof - show that you can deliver every week, not just once in a while. If you're the outstanding player of the week every week, you're on the right track.
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Be in great shape. Your fitness levels matter in football. Work on your fitness by exercising regularly, eating healthily, and avoiding substances that can impair your performance, such as alcohol. Get enough sleep every night. It is also important to learn how to try and stay injury-free - this includes learning how to play well from the start (i.e., knowing how to kick properly, etc.), and how to keep in good physical shape generally through stretching, exercising, etc., so that you don't suffer from avoidable injuries.4
Be a good communicator. Football is a team sport and good communications are vital. Being able to get along well with your fellow team members is a crucial part of successful, effective play. A player who is too much of an individual player, or refuses to communicate properly, is a liability on a team and is not likely to go far. Demonstrate at all times that you are good at communicating by using your manners, expressing yourself clearly, avoiding unruly or angry behaviour on the field, and by being team-spirited, etc.5
Be strong mentally. While football itself is a beautiful game, the life of a professional football player is one of uncertainty and instability. It is a world of short-term contracts, with plenty of other hopefuls waiting in the wings to replace anyone who fails to maintain consistent performance; there are also the risks of injury and the fact of ageing. These realities can all give rise to feelings of insecurity and burn out.[6] Developing the ability to cope with uncertainty, constant competitive pressures, and insecurity is vital for your own success. Also, public exposure can be very trying if you do make it to the top - celebrity status and constant press scrutiny can be wearying and can even lead to depression and other mental health challenges if you're not well prepared.[7] It might be helpful to see a sports health professional or sports psychologist to work on developing coping strategies if you don't already have these skills soundly in place. And learn early that it's okay to talk things out with someone you trust rather than keeping worries bottled up inside.
Method 4 of 6: Showcase Your Talent1
Find out about what your club does to help your chances. Clubs might hold trials or talent days or, as is becoming more commonplace nowadays, clubs also tend to rely on the network they have in place to spot the best players and refer outstanding players onwards.[8]- Find out what your club has in place by way of networks and community schemes to help you get noticed.
- Involve yourself in all important tryouts. Don't expect to always succeed but make the most of these meets to get known and to meet people, exchange details, and to follow up leads.
- Ask about how or whether your club encourages talent scouts to visit your club.
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Be aware of what a football scout is looking for. Even though you should already be showing top dedication, excellent performance, and good behaviour during games, it's helpful to know what scouts look out for when they're scouting for top talent in football. After all, they might appear at any time to check out your team. Basically, a scout will watch your entire attitude, not just your ball play, meaning that you will be watched forcharacter as much as talent.[9] As such, concentrate on:- Showing your team spirit. A good football player will be a team player, helping team mates.
- Showing your ambition. Be competitive without being arrogant or mean-spirited.
- Showing how you can remain calm and focused under pressure.
- Playing to your best at all times. You never know.
Method 5 of 6: Lifestyle Obligations1
Be prepared to relocate. If the support and clubs needed aren't in your area, this may be the impetus for a big change in your living arrangements. Clubs and agents will expect you to move quickly to satisfy their wants, without caring much about your personal life or the long-term prospects for your career.[10] It's a good time to look deep inside and decide if this is really the path you're dedicated to and if it bothers you that this could require a lot of upheaval for little return.2
PFA recommends that before you make a move, you consider three things;- Will you be playing regularly?
- Can you speak the language of where you're going to be relocated?
- Is the remuneration adequate?
- Does the club have a good reputation?
- What are the medical standards should you suffer from an injury.[11]
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Be realistic. Football is a very competitive sport, with a lot of people wanting to achieve the same professional outcome, yet very few players actually reach the top. Professional Footballers Australia researched the career trajectories of those seeking to be professional football players and found that it's career path that "remains short-term, precarious and one of constant transition".[12]2
Keep your eye on the future. While focusing on your career, make sure to also keep an eye on how to further your livelihood and future fulfilment by ensuring a career beyond football. Do this by continuing to balance your academic studies with your football training, so that you are ahead in at least one respect should things not turn out as you'd hoped.[13]
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