How Do You Watch Soccer?

Let's start with two questions.  

1.  Do you watch soccer games?  

2.  How do you watch soccer games?  

These two questions are very important in the player development process.  Watching soccer games are essential to your development as a player.  Taking the time to watch just one FULL game per week is invaluable to developing your understanding of the game.  Here are some tips and things to consider when watching your next soccer game. 

If you’re looking to take your game to the next level, watching clips on social media and highlights on YouTube is not enough.  Sure it is fun to see the exciting moments, goals and big saves from a recent match but this doesn’t help your development much.  These sorts of clips are for entertainment purposes (and finding out how goals were scored or missed/ saved).  Taking the time to watch a full game is where the learning happens.  Think about it this way, a goal is just a part of the whole picture to winning a game or getting a result.  There is so much more work that goes into a game than just the goals.  You also can’t score a goal without understanding how to get there.  The movement off the ball, the passes and dribbles into open space get you to that important moment of scoring a goal.  Scoring the goal is great but you won’t know how to get that result if you don’t watch the whole game.

When watching a game there are a few important things to consider.  Treat the game you’re going to watch as if you were playing.  Watch the game distraction free, put your phone away and don’t do anything else.  Bonus, if possible, watch a game while running on a treadmill at a comfortable speed.  The game you watch doesn’t need to be the best of the best, the team you support, or feature one of your favorite players.  Rather the game should be a level that you’re striving to achieve.  (I get it, you want to play in the English Premier League, but how do you get there!)  For example, if you’re currently in high school and have aspirations to play college soccer you should be watching college games.  If you’re in college, watch professional leagues that you believe could be an attainable level for you.  This is subjective, but you must be honest when evaluating your ability.  You may also have a player you model your game after, watching them week in and week out is very beneficial as well.  Watching games in this capacity gives you a better understanding of the level and qualities needed to be successful.

Maybe you’re wondering, why not just watch the English Premier League, La Liga or Bundesliga?  I’m sure if you’re watching soccer this is what you’re already watching.  I'm not telling you to not watch these games.  Of course you should be watching, there is so much to learn from these games, they are the best of the best.  Do not pass on watching the Premier League game of the weekend.  What I am suggesting, in addition to watching these leagues, is to watch games at that next level you’re currently playing. (Youth Club to Academy/ High School to College to Domestic Professional League’s)  You don’t jump from arithmetic to calculus, there are steps to get to calculus.  It’s so important to study the next stage in your career.  This is if you’re serious about taking your game to the next level.  Taking the time to watch games like this gives you a better understanding of what you need to improve upon to earn an opportunity at that level.   

There are so many avenues to watch games with access to the internet.  Games of all levels are often streamed on a platform like YouTube for free.  If you’re interested in watching a college game, many colleges and universities provide free streams on their athletic department website.  Lower level professional clubs and reserve teams also offer free streaming of games on their club website.  Simply Google a team or league you’re interested in watching and add stream to the end of your search and you will be amazed with the options.  The best part is, there is a live soccer game everyday and for some reason there isn’t, you can always go back and watch an old game. 

Now, when watching the game, focus on the players in your position, study all their tendencies in and out of possession.  Don’t always get drawn into watching the ball, keep your eye on where you would be on the field.  Visualize yourself in those positions on the field and think about what you would be doing in that moment.  Watch the decisions and movements that player makes, to see the impact it has on the system.  Think about the team’s overall system of play, how does it compare to the team you play for.  If you’re an outside back, what is their movement when the center back has possession.  When the outside back receives possession where do a majority of their passes go and what is their positioning after the pass is played? Defensively, does the outside back force the attacking player wide or inside?  These are just a few tendencies to look at when watching the player. 

Take notes when watching games.  Taking notes engrains the material in your head.  Write down the moment in the match, the decision that you would have made and why and then write down what that player did and the outcome of his decision.  Furthermore, after that player has made their decision, write down why you think they made that decision.  This sort of learning is something you can go back and review and gives you an opportunity to reconsider your ideas. 

Let's briefly touch on it here since it was mentioned above but will save the details for another time.  Part of watching games is visualizing yourself on the field completing those actions.  In tandem with watching games should include visualization.  Visualization is another vital component to your performance as a player.  It is a powerful practice that includes “seeing” yourself in certain moments on the field. This will better prepare you for when they happen.  When you tie in watching games and visualizing yourself in moments in the match, these plays will start to slow down for you and seem easy.  Watch soccer games and watch your game grow.