Key Qualities

player

key qualities

The key qualities provide a clear and simple description of the type of player U.S. Soccer would like to develop.

Transcript

Do U.S. soccer key qualities provide a simple and clear description of the type of player that U.S. soccer would like to develop? There are six key qualities of on and off field actions and behaviors that a player and a coach can focus on along their individual development journey, identifying strengths and areas to improve where every player is unique. The six key qualities are game understanding and decision making. This is how a player reads situations and anticipates and makes quick decisions . When there is the technical execution, and this is a player's comfort and ball mastery, then there's physical execution, which is movement skills and fitness. There's also what we call growth mindset and winning mentality, and this is a player's continuous drive to learn and improve. Also we have responsibility, or what we can call self-regulation. These are the qualities where a player takes responsibility for their own development and learning. Lastly, we have learning ability, which is a player's capacity to adapt to a higher level. The six key qualities are equally important and interconnected. You will see in U.S. soccer's visual of the key qualities that this is circular , a line showing that all of the six key qualities are connected and holistic. It's very difficult to talk about one key quality or watch for one key quality without noticing another key quality or a behavior. At the center of this circle is the player. Coaches can use the key qualities as a guide or as a checklist when observing players. This gives us a common structure with really clear behaviors and actions to look for, to help a player understand their strengths and areas to improve, and even to design sessions and exercises within a practice that are focused on the individual, helping them to develop the different key qualities.

Key qualities of a U.S. Soccer player

U.S. Soccer’s Tony Lepore provides an insight into the key qualities of a U.S. Soccer player

6 Key Qualities of a U.S. Player

U.S. Soccer player striking a ball during an indoor training session.

Game Understanding & Decision Making

Read situations, anticipate, and make quick decisions under pressure

Observing and analyzing the position of teammates and opponents, scanning, and adapting body shape
Processing information quickly, thinking ahead, and acting fast (making the best choice)
Adjusting position and moving into space quickly to provide support or cover, aligning actions with teammates
Using creativity to find new and different solutions
Understanding position and role, based on style of play, team principles, and strategy

Young player dribbles past a defender during an indoor training drill.

Technical Execution

Ball mastery & skills under pressure

Moving easily with the ball, staying calm under pressure (receiving, turning, and controlling the ball using different surfaces)
Dominating 1v1 duels (taking-on, regaining, challenging, pressing, forcing, blocking)
Precise passing that sets up the receiver (passing short, long, breaking lines, crossing, etc.)
Dribbling and running with the ball to break lines and accelerate attack (using body feints, changing speed, and / or direction
Making quick combinations, playing 1 and 2 touch
Creating chances and scoring (making final pass / shooting)

Young girl dribbling a soccer ball during a training drill with other players

Physical Execution

Movement skills & fitness

Moving efficiently (agility, coordination, balance)
Using body in duels to protect the ball (shielding), controlling the opponent
Making quick movements to separate from opponent (accelerating, decelerating, turning and recovering, jumping)

Young player pauses thoughtfully, hand on chin, during a training session.

Responsibility & Initiative (Self-regulation)

Responsible for own learning, development & performance

Taking ownership, setting goals, self-reflecting
Receiving feedback, asking questions, and building relationships with teammates and coaches
Preparing for every game / session
Learning to manage a personal lifestyle (rest, recovery, sleep, nutrition, injury prevention / care, mental health)

A coach demonstrates a skill with a ball overhead as a young player watches and learns.

Learning Ability

Capacity to adapt to a higher level

Showing an ability to excel, adapting to new situations quickly
Applying new information

Young girl goalkeeper crouches to collect the ball with focused intensity.

Growth Mindset & Winning Mentality

Continuous drive to improve & compete

Intensity (focus): Giving maximum effort (work ethic) and concentration
Communication: Communicating with teammates on the field to solve game situations and off the field to improve self
Motivation and determination: Showing joy, passion, and enthusiasm; facing adversity and overcoming fear (brave), challenging self, believing in self (confidence), and never giving up
Emotional stability and control: Staying composed and behaving maturely; overcoming setbacks

Identifying and developing a player's super strengths

U.S. Soccer’s Garrett Biller outlines how coaches can help players develop their “super strengths”

Transcript

The benefit of identifying a player's super strength is that we understand every player is unique and each of them have different qualities and identifying that exceptional quality and really being able to turn that into a super strength while also helping the player develop in other areas of the game but really starting to hone in on what makes the player exceptional and then how can we help elevate them in that quality. As a player you're not expected to have all six exceptional qualities especially at such a young age and sometimes it's identifying that one exceptional quality that a player has then how as coaches can we help develop the player in these other areas because these are aimed for player development so it's identifying some of these behaviors at a young age and then how as coaches are we able to help them develop in other areas of the game . Coaches can use the key qualities of a U.S. soccer player to inform their coaching approach in the sense that they take game understanding and decision making for for an example and then applying that in a training session so to put players in situations where they have to make quick decisions under pressure as opposed to standing in a line or dribbling through cones where it doesn't take a lot of decision making from the player they're taking to go from here to the A to B where now there's pressure coming from different areas and the player has to scan continuously to know where the ball is coming from and where it needs to go based on where the pressure is. Thomas decision making as well as allowing the players to make decisions on their own as opposed to telling them where the ball should go or where it needs to go allowing the player to own that decision in the game because at the end of the day we know when they go into the real match that these decisions have to be made by the player themselves.