How to develop quick thinking in soccer? Improving skills for progressive play

Championship has completed the cycle of online soccer training, which was conducted in the format of live broadcasting on the official page on VKontakte. But it doesn’t mean that now you can’t train on our program at home. All past sessions are still available in the community video album, join us!

And we continue to improve the quality of the ball game together with FC Chertanovo coach Dmitry Karpov. Today he will detail how to develop specific thinking skills that a soccer player needs, learn to see the field and make quick decisions during a match.

Disclamer: training goes to a new level

First of all, it should be said that it is better to start this kind of training after the basic exercises of soccer. The goal of our session is to teach the player how to see the field and quickly navigate the game. It should be remembered that without these skills, the athlete will never be able to reach the heights of excellence. And yet the physical load here is minimal, training is more about developing the player’s thinking.

Of course, the most important thing in sports is desire and hard work. But at this stage of training we need equipment: a mat, chips or cones, running ladder, barrier, balls of different sizes, a blank sheet of paper and a pen – all these items will be needed when performing home training. Some things can be replaced with improvised means, but it is better to buy everything you need from an online store.

How do I learn to see the field at home?

The ability to see the pitch and quickly navigate in the prevailing conditions is one of the most important qualities of a player. It depends to a great extent on the functional state of the organ of vision. The space seen by the fixed eye is called the field of vision.

Your task at home is to do exercises in which the head will concentrate not only on the ball. For example, place two chips or two objects at two different sides of the room, try to control the ball and take turns looking at the objects. The main goal of this exercise is to raise your head while doing it and maximize your control of what is in the room around you.

The biggest mistake is concentrating on the ball. At first it is better to perform all exercises slowly, feel every touch of the ball, align your body and head. This way you will see everything that is in front of you. Your head should not look down when controlling the ball.

Increase your decision-making speed alone

Field vision and decision-making speed are related. Field vision is about having a good understanding of the game and thinking outside the box to start an attack, while decision-making speed is about acting correctly on the soccer field within a limited amount of time. Learning both skills alone is possible. The main thing is to add 2-3 tasks when doing one exercise. For example, take a tennis ball in your hands, toss it from one hand to the other and at the same time control or drive the ball with both feet.

Develop decision-making speed best with exercises where there is more than one action. Try to designate a time limit for their execution, add objects, acceleration, work with chips and try to use the whole body.

Exercises to improve your vision of the field and develop your reaction time should be added to your basic ball handling skills. It is quite enough if you work on mental speed 2-3 times a week. Just 15-30 minutes to the main training session is already a great addition.

Lifehack: you can improve the quality of thinking outside of training. To do this, time yourself and read a chapter of any book as fast as you can. Now time yourself again and quickly retell the main information you just read. Do this exercise regularly, each time trying to reduce both the reading time and the retelling time. This is how you develop both quick perception and quick recall of information.

What is cognitive training and what does it involve?

Cognitive training is training that activates an athlete’s intelligence. Memory, logic, analysis, creativity and quickness to make the right decisions are the main points needed to win in the new intellectual soccer.

In order to develop these skills, you need to perform exercises during which you stimulate the functions of the brain and frontal hemispheres. This has a positive effect on both the mind and the body as a whole. One of the most effective techniques is the crossing movement. It is considered a very simple exercise. Just lie down, bend one leg at the knee and connect it to the opposite elbow of your arm. Then use the other arm and leg. Try to perform the movements as slowly and deliberately as possible.

Specifically our workout consisted of exercises that involved the hands. They would spin the ball around the body, and at this point we would try to control the ball with our two feet. At the same time, the arms and legs had to work at the same pace. It is important to perform such exercises synchronized and not to hurry to increase the speed. Do them slowly and qualitatively at first, then increase the pace.

Benefits of cognitive exercises and first results

Performing cognitive exercises significantly increases the number of neural connections. This leads to a faster exchange of information between different parts of the brain, improves the ability to memorize new information, develops logical thinking, the ability to compare facts and quickly make the right decisions. There are many exercises for development not only in sports, but also in ordinary life.

Positive results will not take long to wait, provided that training is regular. Already in 2-3 weeks you can expect an improvement in concentration and attention. If you want to progress as an athlete, be sure to pay attention to such exercises.