Young Ballers Listen Up 👂⚽️

Here are three things I wish I knew when I was a teenager trying to break into first team men's football for the first time. If I knew the last one when I was still 16, it would have saved me an entire season of my career. Number one, Saturdays are all that matters. You can be the best in training, work the hardest, pick the cones up, if the guy in your position always delivers on a Saturday, it's tough. But that doesn't mean opinions change so fast in non-league, so do keep working. However, let's say you're a striker and the guy in your position has scored 25 plus goals for the last four seasons, and he's going to get another 25. Maybe it's time to look for a new club. Number two, get on a proper gym plan. Men's football is a different level of physicality, especially non-league. If you can't keep up with it, you probably won't be in the team for very long. But don't just make the mistake of going into the gym and training like a bodybuilder trying to put some size on. You need a plan that not just makes you stronger, but also faster, jump higher, turn quicker. The guy I used when I was 16 was James Radford, JL, athlete on Instagram. He is the goat. Number three, basics first. If you can't do the basics, it does matter how good you are, you will not be in the team. When I was 16, I thought the fancy stuff mattered. I thought doing the drag backs, playing the nice through balls, looking really technical on the pitch was what mattered the most. And it does matter, your ability matters. But if you can't win the second balls, win the first contacts, track your man, know when to just play over the top and get the danger away. The Gaffer won't trust you and you won't be in the team. Get the basics right first, then let your ability shine. Now, some of these things are very hard to train by yourself. How do you train winning second balls and first contacts? So it's better if you train with other people. And there's this great app to find other people to train with. It's called BALLR. It allows you to post where you're training, what time you're training, and what you're looking to work on, and then other nearby footballers can see your session and join it. Or you can use your map to see theirs and join. Also, you never have to train alone again. If that sounds interesting, then the link's in my bio to download or search BALLR Club on the App Store.