The beautiful skill from Xavi

The most important thing for young soccer players to gain is confidence on the ball and the skills that instill that confidence.  If young players are not being taught the correct techniques of the dribbling art form, then they aren’t getting much out of training.  It is vital for players to receive this kind of instruction early in their career because a soccer player cannot pass the ball off if they can’t hold onto it in the first place.  Creativity and skill on the ball is what fosters that passion for the game in other countries and it is what is missing in American soccer.

After a long conversation with an international soccer veteran yesterday we both came to the conclusion that American soccer has no style and I believe it is due to the lack of freedom while playing on the ball (there are many other things as well but individually this is a big problem).

With all this being said, however, players still need to learn the right times to dribble and pass. I am a huge advocate of the beautiful style that Barcelona plays with. Their passing, structure, movement off the ball, creativity, (I could go on) BUT, if you ask ANY of Barca’s players to dribble past a defender, they will smile and do it with a sparkle in their eye.  That is the passion that is so infectious.