Chasing the Dream of Football Pro – The Diary of a Teen trying to make it

What to say about this week…

I’ve only really trained twice this week due to a little sprain in my toe and a knock in my knee. Probably which I could’ve trained on but seeing as I am finally going to England next week to trial, I didn’t want to risk injuring myself further.

In the round up of how my two trainings went, here it is:

Thursday:
- Too relaxed on the ball
- Shooting was way off! Missed all chances.
- Turning with the ball was good, something I have worked on (training pays off once again!)

Saturday:
- Played game, had three one on one chances and finished none! Should have finished all of them.
- Dribbling through cones only with inside of one foot needs a lot of improvement.

I’m about 100% again and next week will be about catching up and getting ready, preparation week. I’m feeling a little out of fitness and I need to work on a couple of things so I don’t embarrass my self. I’ve worked out a schedule which I will stick to until Saturday when I leave to the airport. If I am not at my best at 100% before going into the trial, then I won’t really know how I measure up.

Monday Morning: 10 minutes right/left foot one touch passing,  10 minutes two touch passing, finish with 50 pushups, 50 situps, 150 leg co-ordination exercises / Lunch: 15-20 minute game with friends / Afternoon: 40 minute treadmill run.

Tuesday Morning: Same as Monday / Lunch: Same / Evening: Club training.

Wednesday Morning: 30 minute run / Lunch: Same / Evening: Club training.

Thursday Morning: 10 minutes juggling, 20 minutes dribbling exercises, 10 minutes one touch, two touch/ Lunch: Same / Evening: Club training.

Friday Morning: 60 minutes run / Lunch: Same / Afternoon: Swim

Saturday Morning: Club training and then leave to England.

Sunday: Trials day at FootballCV.

Monday – Saturday: Wimbledon.

Weeks Reflection injury, plan, prep, training

So last night after watching Will Smith’s video on wisdom, I became really motivated. I have this red, mini football I got from my club’s Christmas party.  I set a unreasonable target for myself that I would get 100 juggles with this mini ball by the end of the night. I could barley do 10 or 15 kick ups to start, my record was probably about 20, but I never stopped believing that I wouldn’t get 100 and eventually I got closer and closer until around two hours later YES! I got over 100 juggles.

So basically what seemed like an impossible task to start wasn’t actually impossible at all, it was just a state of mind.

I have also just come back home from a pretty hard fitness training, I hate them so much but I have realised that in order for me to become one of the best players that ever lived I need to have tough mental challenges for myself and so things like that is good for me and now I am enjoying it, that while i’m going through physical exhaustion that the exhaustion is just a state of mind, by body telling me that I can’t keep going. But in truth I can and like Will Smith says “I’m not afraid to die on the treadmill” ha ha

Confidence, Concentration, Goals, Success, Determination fitness, football, humphries, nick, state of mind, training

Another week passes, finished this years first game a couple of hours ago and now i’m catching up on some last minute homework.

Starting off with the game which is the freshest in my mind at the moment, I think I played good. We won 8-0 against a pretty average team. I first assisted a goal from taking a corner kick and then scored a one on one, I had just one other shot on goal. My goal came from the determination to score as I made a run through the middle of defence and received a through ball which paid off when I nutmegged the keeper. What I did well was making runs with the ball, tackling and touch was good.

If we look at my main focuses for improvement:

1. ONE ON ONE FINISHING
2. PLAYING PACE
3. DECISION MAKING
4. FIRST TOUCH

I think all of these things were done ok – good in the game which this game I guess shows i’ve done a little improvement in those areas.

On the negative side, there wasn’t too much. Positioning could of been a a little quicker in some cases, I think I should of made more runs and received passes through the middle of the pitch, too one sided. I also didn’t feel as though I was really, really important like if I was Rooney when he scored those 4 goals. I want to mean much more to my coach and in my football so I think I just got to take my game to the next level as if I were just untouchable on and off the ball.

But going back earlier in the week here is what I reflected on in trainings, the fitness side of things is postponed until this coming week:

Tuesday:

• Improving my playing intelligence of the game
• Knowing when to run, sprint and pass
• My confidence really lacked in drills and didn’t think things through.
• Balance and co-ordination needs improvement
• Finishing needs improvement.

Thursday:

• CONFIDENCE, It wasn’t there!

Saturday:

• Two touch passing could have some more perfection

So as you can see, the confidence side of things wasn’t so great. When I stuff up in training or get shouted at by my coach I tend to put my head down. I am learning that these things will only make me stronger so it’s not worth putting my head down for anything, it shows that I lack confidence in myself to others and that’s something I can’t do.

Anyway that’s all for this week, it’s a month to go now before I go off to AFC Wimbledon and see how I go with my one week trial there, can’t wait!

Weeks Reflection confidence, football, good, soccer, stuff, training, up, wimbledon

Like I said before 2010 is the year!

I think the first week has gotten off to a good start. We’ve started our two months of mostly fitness trainings this week. Although I thought I was going to struggle in training because I didn’t really follow my coaches training plan over my one month break, the running session we had really wasn’t so bad and I was keeping up with the best;  so it was kind of surprising but I probably keep my fitness because i’m young. I reflected after each session I had with my club, these are the things I learnt and need to improve on:

Wednesday:

• Although i’ve heard this before I heard it again and that is to use your body to shield the defender from a pass, don’t be scared if you get kicked because it’s and foul anyway + it will make you a stronger player.
• Need to work on having smaller touches for better control, especially smaller touches with left foot as it feels a bit uncoordinated.

Thursday:

• Improve on first touch a little
• One on one finishing still a big problem
• One on one with an opponent.

Saturday:

• Look up first then pass
• On the positive: One touch passing has definently improved, mostly from passing ball against wall.

I think I am being really self critical, but I also need to properly identify my strengths so i’ll do a little reflection on that too next week.

Also, I worked a little on my free kick technique using the side of my foot to strike the ball. I got it off Drogba’s free kick 3-0 goal against Arsenal last year. I’ve worked on my style heaps and heaps over the years, but I think this way is definently working for me and the ball seems to go where I want it too when I strike the ball. I have to post a video of myself doing it, but here is that Drogba goal.

Anyway, there’s four trainings and a game to cap it off next week so can’t wait for that.

Weeks Reflection first, fitness, football, passing, touch, training, work

Hallo my name a borat.

No. Anyway today in training we played against some random group of orphans (gypsy kids) from the countryside  who randomly came to play our team. They were shit, but anyway we won a 8 vs 8 game like 3-1. I scored one (it was kinda like rooney’s goal against Tottenham if you saw it), but I lost the ball a couple of times and this really pisses me off as my aim is not to lose a ball at all in a game, yet I lost a few against crappy 13-14 year old kids who are not even a proper team. Fuck. My aim to be pro, when I do crap like this it has a hit on my confidence.

What pisses me off more is that we had a shooting drill where we dribble the ball from about 25m out and we take a shot from about 20m from goal. Now shooting from long range is like my best skill asset, i’ve practiced it for years and I can pull off some good powerful, accurate goals. Now when i’m by myself at the oval and I practice this it makes me pissed even when I score down the middle of the goal because a keeper can easily save it, now you can imagine when I keep missing the goal in this drill, the coach gets pissed and other people score more than me how guttered you can be… maybe it’s the shit hard, field, ditchy , hole we play on and the hard, fully pumped up balls we play with is why my true skill doesn’t show but still.. fuck!

I guess all I can do is use today as motivation to do better.

Analysis of Game Performance angry, drill, football, motivation, pissed, pro, soccer, training