What Makes Up a Player?

We have the opportunity to watch many different players train and play throughout the year. From the youngest beginners to the older more experienced players, all are very different from one another. Players share similar qualities, but I have not been around two players who play the game, or approach playing the game, the exact same way. While coaching kids, I have asked them to tell me what they think makes them a good soccer player or why they are different from other players. Most struggle to give me an answer to these questions. Coaches know the basic “pillars” that make up a player (technical, physical, tactical, and psychological), but most players do not understand what these things mean. Knowing and understanding these areas can help a player be more aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I wish I knew more about these areas when I was growing up. Often, I was not sure what my coaches were looking for when they watched me play.

Below are the different parts that make up a player:

The Tools (Technical & Physical Ability)

When I meet with players and I discuss their “technical ability”, I simply refer to those areas as the players’ tools. Like a mechanic with all of their machines, wrenches, lifts, and whatever else mechanics use, a player’s technical ability and physical ability are the basic tools needed to complete the job (play the game). The more time players spend working on these areas when they are young, the more “tools” they will have as they get older to use to play the game. Unfortunately these tools become harder to acquire as kids get older. A young player needs to try to fill up their “garage” with as many tools as possible and older players need to continuously “upgrade” their tools with continued technical training.

A player’s technical ability is the tools used to control or manipulate the soccer ball. Whether it is receiving the ball, moving with the ball, or striking the ball, the player needs to develop the tools required to do all of these things with a tremendous amount of variation, consistency, and speed. If a player is missing any of these tools, his ability to have success on the soccer field becomes harder . The more advanced a player’s tools are, the game becomes easier and actions be done faster and more efficiently.

A player’s physical ability is their capability to use their body efficiently to its full potential. As players get older, they will develop more strength and size, but even from a young age, it is important for players to learn how to control their body effectively by developing good coordination, foot work, balance, body awareness, and running/moving mechanics. Many of these areas develop faster at younger age groups (5 to 13).

The Know How (Tactical Ability)

So a player has worked hard to develop a garage full of state of the art tools to use in the game, but does the player know how to use them? This is the next area that is important to a player. A player needs to learn how to use their tools when playing the game. This is developed over time through a coach facilitating the process with the design of training activities and the player’s experience on the soccer field. The player needs to learn which tools to use, when to use those tools, why to use those tools, and where to use the tools. The coach can help by putting the “hammer” in the kids hand when they try to use a “wrench” to drive in a nail.

Imagine a mechanic who is in a garage with amazing tools all around, but the mechanic has no idea how to use any of them. It would be a tragic waste of resources! This is why it is very important for players to learn the “Know How” of the tools they develop so they can use them efficiently on the field. It is critical to teach technical skills, or the tools of the game, in the context of how they can be used to help the player be successful on the field.

One of tough things about soccer is that there are very few absolute answers to any single problem on the field. Players have to constantly make choices on the soccer field, and those choices have to be made in real time. There is usually more than one right answer to any problem and the right answer depends on the “tools” the player has, along with the variables of the game. With a coach’s guidance and being aware of past success and failures, a player will develop the “know how” to use their tools in different situations to solve problems on the field.

It is common to find players with incredible tools who do not know how to use them or players with incredible Know How but lack the tools to be able to execute. Both situations can be very frustrating for a player. This is why it is critical that technical skills, the tools of the player, are taught along side, the tactical, the Know How, of the game. This will help develop players who are capable and ready to play the game at a higher level, well almost...

The Will (Psychological)

I am not a psychologist, so I will not try to speak intelligently on the inter-workings of the human mind. When a player or parent hears about the psychological pillar of player performance on the field, it encompasses an extensive area of mental aspects of the game that can be hard to understand. For the sake of keeping things simple, the psychological aspect for a player can be summarized as “The Will” or want to use/showcase their Tools and Know How. The will to play the game.

In other words, does the player want to compete and put forth the effort necessary to have the best chance to develop and have success? A player’s work rate, or willingness to work hard, is a key component of a player’s success. A player can have all the needed talent to be great, but if they are unwilling to compete and work harder than the other players on the field, it does not matter.

Can this be developed by coaches? Yes and no. Yes, coaches can create a competitive environment in training and push players to want more than they think is possible, but the players still need to WANT to do it. A player has to make a decision to compete. If the coach creates the right environment and the player decides to compete, it can create a player who can thrive in games and in other competitive environments. If the environment is right but the player chooses not to compete, then the player will never have the necessary mentality to be successful on the field. Players make this choice at different times in their development. Coaches have the responsibility to try to nurture this decision and process for each player overtime.

The Control (Emotions & Lifestyle)

These are two areas not normally talked about when discussing areas that make up a player, but none the less, both are very important to a player’s performance on the field. These are two areas that are in control solely by the player, but the coach can direct players in the right direction and advise when needed.

A player’s emotions may seem like it would fall under the psychological/mental pillar but I separate them. There are many players that have a ton of will and love to compete, but cannot control their emotions in big games or competitive environments. They can overreact or under react to situations on the field that can hinder performance. This includes their overall mood and relationship to other players on their team. A player must be able to control their emotions at all times. As we see in professional sports frequently, when emotions are out of control, players tend to make poor decisions on and off the field.

A player’s lifestyle is what they do when they are not on the soccer field. As players get older, this becomes a bigger factor. When players are young, many of their lifestyle decisions are made by their parents. Eventually, a player will begin to decide on their own how they spend their time away from the soccer field.

Although kids do not think about it much, what they eat, how much they sleep, how much exercise they get, and other lifestyle choices can impact their performance. Simply, poor choices away from the field can implode a player’s ability to perform before training or a game even begins. Without enough sleep, a player will be physically tired and mentally dull. Without eating properly, the player will not have the energy needed to perform. These are just a few examples of areas that can be affected by a player’s lifestyle choices.

Parents and coaches can help a player understand how to handle their emotions and instill good lifestyle habits off the field. Often, this comes from “teachable moments” that occur as kids grow up, where a parent or coach needs to step in and guide a player towards making better decisions in the future. Whether it is a player blowing up on a teammate for a bad pass or deciding to eat poorly before a game, a coach or parent can use the result of those actions to motivate the player to find a better solution to create a better outcome next time.

If players understand the components that make up who they are on the field, the player can identify areas of strengths and weaknesses and address them both. A player can use their strengths to hide weaknesses while working on improving those weaknesses until they become strengths. In the end, there is no “cookie cutter” profile for a complete or high level player. All will have a different mix of all these attributes that will determine a player's overall performance. All players, in order to be successful need enough of the Tools, the Know How, and Will to play the game. How successful the player is depends on their emotional control and choices made on and off the field.