The Foundations of Football: Simplicity, Synapses and Sprints

Escaping the Black Hole of Passive Consumerism

The road to becoming 'good' or 'better' at something is difficult and involves excessive amounts of disappointment, pain and heartache upon the buckets of sweat, tears and anxiety manifesting in the form of imposter syndrome. 

And, what is good? Good vs what, who? In a world where we love to be 'data-driven' and benchmark ourselves against anything that moves, the word 'good' can lead you to a black hole where the passion you have for something might get sucked away along with your sanity in the journey of trying to improve  or simply doing something you enjoy.

Also, once the idea of monetizing something enters your head, you start, potentially, viewing the things you like in a different light. An example of this is football. Most of us alive today, will not (and have not) become professional football players - not because we are or were bad at the game, but simply due to statistics - although some were obviously just pure horrible! However, despite us not becoming pros and our different skill levels, the passion, excitement in playing the game remained for many. But somewhere down the line we forgot that we could, regardless of our age or not being part of a club, still improve on our passion.

We stopped doing this because we saw no point in it because we always associated the apex experience (playing the game) with professional players and instead, we mostly became consumers of merchandise, apps playing 'fantasy', betting, video games, watching rants on social media platforms where the rant happens to be even more funnier when the ranting person's team loses! While I am all for increasing global GDP, constructive rants and not against consumerism as such, why did we stop improving on our passion for football - or any sport/activity which we can't become pros in - in general?

This is why this post was conceived. I will outline how to improve your football game (in reality and not your video game avatar) in 3 simple steps which I also believe are the foundations of the game itself. I believe they can be applied to most sports in general and even be used for hobbies such as art, dance, cooking etc. I am doing this so we don't develop a dystopian detachment with what we love and enter a black hole of passive consumerism. Also, you might even get fitter in the process! 

Simplicity, Synapses and Sprints

I have noticed, especially in today's lighting fast economy powered by hype, how everything needs to be repackaged, rebranded and painted with buzzwords just to re-sell you the same things. I guess this is what keeps things exciting, fresh and wouldn't say there is any harm with it as long as you are aware of the phenomenon. With that said, the three selected buzzwords for today are: Simplicity, Synapses and Sprints. Although, very happy if you want to use the 'old school' terms instead: Technique, Game Intelligence (Game IQ) and Physique (VO2 Max, stamina etc). Below is a photo elaborating further:

 

Hope the image is clear for all to print and post it somewhere where it can serve as a reminder. 

...with Technique (simplicity)

Ball mastery, ball control, ball wizardry, first-touch etc. are all terms that imply a specific ability to manipulate the ball according to your will - from any angle, speed, height etc. I believe, this is the foundation of football - despite football being a team sport! When you make things look simple, that is, in one touch, able to redistribute a ball coming towards you in high speed into a pass (or a shot) - you can proudly say that you are achieving a level of technique that would warrant your feet being insured and anointed daily with exclusive essential oils.

The message is that you when you develop the ability to make very advanced mathematical calculations in your head on how, where and when to hit the ball due to gravitational forces currently exerted on the ball, it's spin etc and execute it in reality, it would imply you have good technique and ball mastery. 

Before you start taking out your calculator, physics textbook and start working out the gravitational and magnetic forces operating on your football, I would suggest you simply kick the ball onto a wall. Notice how it bounces, how it moves, its trajectory depending on where you strike it on the ball but also on your foot. Then, the next training exercise would be to trap the ball once it bounces back from the wall. Do this many¹⁰⁰ times!

Yes, because while writing blogs are all fun and games (!) you really need to see this as a workout. The journey of developing a decent technique takes time, effort and plenty moments of heartaches in the form of the ball bouncing far away from your feet. Trap the ball, with one touch place it to your right/left, turn, use your weak foot, trap with your inside/outside foot, drop a shoulder here and there while doing so and with the passage of time, you might start awakening the wizard within you. I will go as far and say how surprised you will be how much your technique can improve no matter your age.

...with Game IQ (synapses)

While carving and polishing your technique is a process, so is developing your Game IQ aka game intelligence. The best way to do so is very straightforward and something we at Enganche Calcio will always encourage: play the damn game in real life! 1v1, 3v3, 8v8 - doesn't matter, just go out (or in for futsal) and play the game in real life with real humans. Basically, you need to get exposed to the game, different situations, conditions, scenarios, individuals to develop your intelligence. You need to challenge your mind with these diverse situations in order to expand your knowledge bank inside your brain.

In other words, you need experiences. Football experiences in real-time. In combination with the stress of potentially losing the game, trailing (or winning) with 3,4 or 5 goals etc, how is your body, mind handling the situation? Is your technique still as sharp, your will to win, your belief that you can win and then actually win? All these are experiences and enhance your Game IQ. 

Game IQ also improves your tactical sense and your overall understanding of the game. However, remember one thing, no matter how intelligent your football is or how your astronomical your IQ becomes, if your technique is crap, your overall enjoyment and contribution to the game will falter also. While it is still possible to have 'fun' and play the game we love, a deficient technique will be burden. What is the point in being a tactical genius, finding space, and when you actually get that pass your first touch fails you and you lose possession? That is why technique remains the foundation of the game while Game IQ serves as the natural successive building block. 

PS: Even if your technique is crap, don't stop playing the game. Having 'fun' is completely fine.

...with Physique (sprints)

Remember we started this post about how difficult it is to become 'good' at something. In relation to football, despite in my 'ground-breaking' pyramid, physique gets a tiny block, physique nevertheless still remains an important brick at the apex of the pyramid. The reason for this is that there is a big difference in having moments of brilliance in something as opposed to being 'good' at something. What I mean with this is that you might be a great player - in the first 10 min of a 60 min game - but the remaining 50 min you are worthless. The reason isn't you, yourself or ye. The reason is, most probably, your physique, stamina or VO2 max. Basically, after a certain time, your ability to showcase your phenomenal technique and game intelligence collapses and all the hot air and grand lectures on how football is your 'passion' becomes a comedy documentary.

There is a solution to this and it is very simple: interval training. You can make it even simpler by imagining someone with a very thick German accent saying the following word: Zzprintz! Jaaa, sprints! In clear language, run, schnell, jetzt! You don't need to prepare for Armageddon but 15 min sessions, 2-3 times a week, compounded over time will do wonders and you might actually end up getting prepared for Armageddon in the process. 

Allocate the same amount of time outlined above for the interval training to your technique exercises (ball to wall). You will be surprised, again compounded over time, how your experience of playing the game of football will change. This is in total is around 30 min, 2-3 week for technique and physique. You are after all, getting fitter and getting better on something you like. 

Expressing Yourself in the Form of your Passion

I hope this post gives you some motivation to go out there and improve yourself in your favorite sport or hobby. As I said, the above exercises are not revolutionary. There is no hype but simply 3 steps or foundational blocks for football - and I argue you can implement them for most hobbies, sports etc. Learn the basic, practice it and improve on your stamina. I do however apologize if you were expecting fancy terminology or me starting each paragraph with "according to research", "according to science" or "do not use your feet to become better at football".

Sometimes, if not always, clichés are there for a reason. Sometimes, if not always, football is enjoyed more with enhanced technique. Sometimes, if not always, developing technique is a lonely and in the start a tedious process. Sometimes, if not always, those who do the boring and tedious things repeatedly, compounded over time, gain mastery over them.