January 11th, 2019
Prime Soccer Development
Elite. The best of a class. The superior tier of society that excels in a realm of expertise. In sport, we consider any athlete that reaches the professional ranks to be elite. But within that realm of professionals, there is then an elite tier that separates the best from the rest. Elite athletes have several intrinsic characteristics that enable them to perform at the level they do, but what training techniques do they use in order to achieve this level of ability and performance? That is what everyone is after. If you go on YouTube you will see thousands of videos claiming to be “how the pros train” or some secret drill that will make you infinitely better. But how do we know what is truth, and what is simply fairy dust?
When we discuss elite members of sport, James Harden is a name that regularly comes up. His performance on the basketball court has led him to be one of the most dangerous players with the ball in his hands. But what has he done to reach this level? Harden recently gave us an insight through a video he posted on “The Player's Tribune” where he discusses how he trains and prepares for games.
The first thing that is important to notice when Harden speaks in this video is that he recognizes his role on the court. He understands his strengths and how he can best impact the game. He always first looks to force a defender to commit to him. He then has a set of three of four moves that he uses to off-balance the defender, and then move past them. Then he discusses the possible actions that will occur next and how he can react to them. This includes taking a shot, passing out to a teammate for a 3, driving to the rim or passing short to a big man for a layup. Harden is very calculated in his movements and decisions, everything has a purpose and states it should be the same during training. Harden then goes on to stress the importance of fundamentals. It isn’t all about being flashy and having the most outrageous moves. Not to say having a bit of flair is bad, but it shouldn’t necessarily be the main focus of your training - think of these flashy moves as the icing on the cake. You need solid fundamentals and a good base of skills before you can progress to more difficult, situational moves. One of the most important themes that Harden touches on in this video, is that he doesn’t practice moves or skills that he would not use in the game. This is critical. Wasting time in practice on pointless tricks or moves is not necessary. If you are spending time to perfect it, you better be using it come game time.
As far as developing these skills, the most important thing is dedicating time and being consistent with your training. This is relevant across all sports. Even the top athletes will train simple techniques every day to ensure staying sharp. Kobe Bryant is a famous example of this, who was known to go out on game days and go through a shooting practice where he’d hit 250 shots in a session. Then on off days he would do a similar routine but shoot 500 to 1000 shots in a session. That’s just an elite athlete working on what he considered to be the most important part of his game. It didn’t take any crazy drills with a million cones, it was just him hitting shots over and over again. Repetition of the skill, always fine tuning and perfecting his technique. There was another great video shared a few years ago of Uruguayan soccer star Diego Forlan doing a simple technical drill after a team session. The video shows Forlan just knocking a ball off a concrete wall, using different techniques to control and pass the ball, perfecting his craft. These things seem so simple, but consistently working on these simple techniques make them automatic to the athlete, and when that’s the case you can perform at the highest level.
This brings us to the next important point about elite athletes and how they train: Mentality. The mental aspect of sports is often thought of as a major factor that separates the best from the great and the great from the good. There have been several studies that support the notion that an athlete’s mental strength and drive is a major decider in how successful they are in their field. The elite athletes are never satisfied, always pushing themselves further and harder. While these athletes have a great amount of confidence, they are still humble enough to understand that they are not above the training that goes into even perfecting the simplest of techniques. There is also the mental understanding of the game, how well one can read the game and not only react but accurately predict what will happen next. In the same video previously mentioned, James Harden discusses the importance of basketball instincts and quick decision making. This mental ability and speed are critical for elite athletes to have. Being able to see the game one step faster than your opponent, and being able to make the right decision, will make all the difference in a tight contest. The quarterback in football, for example, must constantly be reading defenses and calling audibles. Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, doesn’t have a great deal of athletic ability, but he is able to read the game better than just about anyone out there. This allows him to be incredibly successful, despite his athletic deficiencies. He is still considered elite even as he ages into his 40’s. Furthermore, a study came out stating that in soccer, coaching young players in the mental and tactical parts of the game was equally, if not more, important than coaching skill and technique. This truly shows how pivotal the mental aspect of the game is.
When training to become elite, the keys are to focus on your fundamentals daily, and ensure they are constantly being sharpened. Understand your strengths and what your role is on your team and focus on those specific things to ensure you are doing your job to the best of your ability. Finally, work on the mental understanding of the game, improve your tactical awareness and ability to read and predict the game and your role in it.
Harden video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDrIOoaGZ4U
Forlan video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_4oPQKKy1Q
Mental strength study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02009/full
Kobe Bryant link: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/15179469/kobe-bryant-famous-pregame-shooting-routine
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