Every parent wants the absolute best for their child. They want to see their kid excelling at everything they do. But when a parent sees their child pouring their heart into every game, every practice, every rep, and yet they still seem to be lagging behind their friends, it can be extremely disheartening.
If this or any of these other five signs are the case, it might be time to think about getting an expert coach in your child’s corner. Private soccer lessons can help to bridge the gap and give purpose and direction to your child’s incredible heart and drive.
Sign 1: They're Not Getting Enough Touches or Attention in Team Practice
Team practice is an excellent place to help develop players, and for some, team training is plenty. However, team practices tend to be a one-size-fits-all style session, where the collective team issues as a whole are addressed rather than specific player issues. This is by no fault of the coach either. It would be impossible to sit down with 10-20 players and train their specific issues effectively with a great level of attention to detail. While small adjustments can be made, there is simply not enough time.
Shooting lines are an excellent example of this dilemma. Shooting lines are good for 2 things. First, is warming up before a game with a handful of shots. Second, they help develop a keeper as the keeper gets a plethora of reps in. The issue with shooting lines during a team practice is that the shooters tend only to get roughly 5-10 shots in. This is not nearly enough volume at any level of any sport.
In contrast, in small-group training or private sessions, a player can complete over 100 reps in a significantly shorter amount of time. Private soccer training helps give individualized attention to individual players. Over the course of the 100 reps, private soccer trainers can help make the small adjustments and tweaks in form necessary for success in becoming a master at each element of the game.
Furthermore, simply from a mathematical standpoint, a player is far more likely to develop more if given 10x the amount of reps. Adding in the one-on-one attention only helps to expand the odds even more.
Sign 2: Their Confidence Is Starting To Drop
Confidence is one of the most important factors in the game. Confidence can elevate a mid-level player to play like a pro. On the contrary, a lack thereof can take a superstar and have him seeming like he has never touched a ball before.
If your child’s confidence is starting to wane, it may be time to consider private soccer training. Consistently lagging behind their teammates or consistently being stuck on the bench can take a massive toll on a player’s confidence. Getting them personalized lessons can help them identify where their biggest drawbacks are and help improve those areas. Consistently working to improve these areas will give your child the ability to start making strides in their performance. A good coach will also work at building confidence in your child through small wins in their lessons. These small wins will add up to a big belief in oneself to have the confidence to attempt new things on the field and continue to grow.
Learning a new skill is one thing, but if your player doesn’t have the confidence to try and to fail at it in practice and games, they will never master it. Professional players are those who have failed the most yet never gave up. While a competitive environment, such as during practices or games, is daunting, the only way a player will learn how to implement something new is through trying and failing. Private lessons can help nurture a player’s confidence as they progress through this process.
Sign 3: They've Hit a Development Plateau
Perhaps playtime is not the issue. If your player gets all the minutes in the world yet doesn’t improve, it might be a sign of a different problem. Oftentimes, team trainings focus mainly on tactics, playmaking, and group activities. While these things are extremely important, they do not focus on refining the techniques or skills of players. If your child struggles with finishing, even if they are getting lots of reps in during activities like 3v2 or 2v2s, if form is the issue, they will very rarely improve, regardless of the number of touches on the ball. In fact, quite the opposite, actually.
It is often harder to train older players because they have more established bad habits. Taking lots and lots of reps with bad form does nothing but reaffirm the bad form. A quality trainer will be able to examine the form itself, teach the player how to identify the correct form, and then implement that form through a voluminous series of repetitions.
Private lessons help to identify the specific form/technique issues that are causing this plateau in your child and obliterate them. They isolate weaknesses, fix the problem, and accelerate progress at a rate much faster than any team practice could dream of.
Sign 4: They're Struggling With Specific Skills
Private lessons create more well-rounded players. While your athlete may be the best player on the team at strong foot finishing, they may also be the worst at weak foot finishing. Whether the issues are ball mastery, passing, skill moves, ball control, or any other range of skills you can think of, private soccer training helps to rapidly elevate the weak points of your athlete’s game while steadily improving what they are already strong at.
The issue with team training is that a coach cannot generate the volume necessary for every athlete to work on their specific and individual weaknesses. Private lessons help with the overall development of every player by focusing on that athlete’s specific issues.
Sign 5: Motivation Without Direction
While some kids struggle to commit themselves to improvement, that is not the case for all. Maybe your kid isn’t as strong as their teammates, but they are way hungrier to improve. This is a great start, but chasing a goal without knowing which direction to take or where to begin can be disheartening. If your child is seeking to get better but doesn’t know how, private soccer training should be the next step.
There are hundreds of drills on YouTube or the internet that offer various conflicting advice. So how do you know which ones are good and which ones are bad? This is where a private trainer comes in. Rather than your child wasting valuable time and energy on drills that are ineffective or overly complicated, private soccer lessons can provide clear direction through focused, proven systems that will guarantee improvement, as long as your child is equally committed.
Another issue with the YouTube route is that there is no goal orientation. There is no clear goal setting on when to advance to a new level or to maintain the current level. It is all guesswork, and as any knowledgeable person will tell you, guesswork does not equate to steady results. Private training can help continually challenge and support your child through continuous goal setting and achievement.
Time To Take The Next Step
If your child is struggling with confidence on the field, hungry to learn but doesn’t know where to start, or has seemed to plateau in one or all aspects of their game, it is time to contact a private soccer trainer. The most important thing is finding the right coach for your child. Not every trainer is the same. Each one has his own program and language, and finding the one that can talk to your child in a way that they understand best is key.
Whether your child is a beginner or has been playing for a while, enrolling in private lessons will result in noticeable improvement in your child’s development. Whether they play for their school team or club team, private soccer training will set your kid apart and give them an edge over their competition.
If we are near your location, Adamyk Performance Training would be delighted to support your athlete as they embark on their journey to greatness. Whether you’re interested in individual or group classes, contact us to begin scheduling soccer lessons today!
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