Practice Makes Progress

"Frenchie"

Photo: Mike Racine

 

Michelle French is one of our Eastside FC coaches.  Her soccer resume is miles long, but I like Michelle mostly because she's a sweet spirit with an easy smile and a very tough core.  It was easy to select her as our first guest blogger.  Enjoy.....

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One of the best coaches I ever had coined the phrase "Practice Makes Progress".

"Practice makes progress" allows for mistakes, provides an avenue to understand that sometimes skills don't come easily or quickly, and it allows for measurements of improvement.  A player's goal seems much more attainable to him/her when they see progress toward the bigger picture vs feeling like they need to be perfect every time.

For example, every week my GU11 players need to try and juggle 5 more than they did the previous week. In the beginning, some players could literally only get 3 juggles. After a 2 week period, almost every single player can get at least 15 juggles. The practice and time they are putting into learning the skill of juggling has allowed them to see great progress in a short period of time.

Is the goal attainable?  Absolutely!  Will they ever be a perfect "juggler" and never drop it?  Probably not. However, if you could see the excitement on their faces when they reach the goal of 5 more juggles each week, it's priceless!  Practice has definitely made progress not only in their skill, but in their confidence to grow as players!   :)

As a player, be sure you're "practicing" the right technique.  Don't be afraid to ask a coach you trust to break down any skill for you.  Once you learn the proper technique, and you begin practicing that technique with confidence, progress is just around the corner!