Look, the modern game is different. Players are expected to move differently across tactical formations and the responsibility sets of players in specific positions demand more technical prowess and proficiency than people think. In other words, the days of simply blasting the ball long down the field are gone. Teams will still employ this strategy, of course, but to what end? These days, such crude approaches mean a player is panicking and getting rid of the ball, lacks the confidence and skill-set to outplay an opponent and retain possession, or lacks the refinement and game intelligence to know that possession with a purpose is how the modern game is defined.

To players in the modern era, training usually means “practice” in the conventional sense. That is, an activity that is formally organized and facilitated by a coach and agreed upon by a parent to attend. Although this is still counts as training, it’s merely a sliver of what training truly should or could be to a player — especially the young ones embarking on their playing journey in a competitive sense.

Oftentimes, the main driver here is actually not that the player’s willpower, but rather the will of a parent or coach that pushes a player into action. While we cannot and should not discourage this influence, it cannot be the only reason a player trains. There’s so much to be gained from existing outside of what I call the “Prompted Paradigm”.

In this Prompted Paradigm, players wait and rely on prompts and nudges to take action. In doing so, they limit their ability to make massive strides in their own development, understanding, and connection to the game. Additionally, they miss out on opportunities to develop a deep relationship with themselves, which can bolster an individual’s resolve and resiliency as they spend more time addressing their own needs. Once a player not only understands their own proficiencies and deficiencies, they begin to learn how much of that maps to what is going on in team settings or what their coach sees and says.

As with any discipline, those who are self-motivated and driven to action without the external need or pressure to abide primarily by the prompting of others begin to exist in a world that is unencumbered by distractions. For the self-driven individual, the journey of development is unique and wholly personal and begins to understand more about who they are both as a player and, most importantly, who they are as a person. Are they someone who will begin to develop their own routine and stick to it? Or, are they someone who simply hopes good things will happen without much thought about the work required to make it so?

Individuals who operate through their own system away from the conventional team / practice setting, learn so much more about what makes them tick. These days, there is no shortage of resources out there for a player to access to get ideas, inspiration, or information. The question remains, however, with such an influx of accessible resources why does the modern player train and play less and less on their own? There are many reasons ranging from competing priorities and the constant pressure of over-scheduling what can be done in a given week or day, but I’ll focus on a simple reason: we don’t need more information, we need more implementation.

In my book, “It’s Just a Ball”, I discussed a concept called “Dry Swimming” that is best summarized by the hypothetical scenario of an aspiring elite swimmer. This aspiring swimmer watches YouTube videos and TikTok clips of elite swimmers each day. They are committed to looking the part, too. They will do everything in preparation for swimming (buying new goggles, better swimsuits, a better training watch, more books on the topic, etc.) — but in doing so, they put getting in the water low on the prioritization list (if not last on it). The whole while, his or her competitor that doesn’t have the notion to look up new gear reviews, watch hours of video content, wait for the pool to be the perfect temperature for their mindset to be just right is making massive progress because they’re putting in the hours and the laps in the water.

This can happen in any pursuit. It happens in our sport all the time. It happens in our weight training or fitness journeys. We dream about a better physique, a more aesthetic build, faster marathon times — and we look up how others attain what we want while missing out on the chance to jump in and immerse ourselves in that pursuit. In essence, we are living our dreams through the accomplishments and actions of others in a disconnected manner that has become normalized. Those embarking on something new often occupy their efforts into the acquisition of more “things” and more information rather than doing the actual thing. I often ask players how they aim to improve their skills and become more dominant and the one answer I repeatedly get is, “I don’t know.”

Personally, I like this answer because it tells me a lot about a player in three simple words. It tells me they may be overwhelmed with their perceived shortcomings. It also reveals they may not have the guidance and specificity from their coaches or parents to action upon anything tangibly valuable. Another possibility could be they do know what they need to do, they just don’t know how. I contend that everyone has too much on their minds and we have lost the ability to action on instinct.

So, how can we help ourselves and our players do rather than guise action with preoccupation? First, we must start with helping ourselves. As individuals we must learn to lead both by action and example. Kids are intelligent. Players these days are smart. They have access to a digital landscape and there is no shortage of things vying for their attention — and we as parents and coaches are no different. If you have goals or obligations related to self-improvement or discipline-based paradigms, it’s not enough to preach their importance and not follow through yourself. Young people see right through this pretense. In other words, be who you say you’ll be and be about what you aspire to show the world because the next generation is watching (even if they’re not actively engaging).

The last point here is developing a system or process. This point transcends so many domains of life, but I’ll keep it simple. Find what not only works for your specific needs and ambitions, but also what you need to improve on each day. This happens through consistency and with a healthy dose of obsessive action. Of course, there is no shortage of articles telling us how to be more efficient, productive, and proactive with our tasks. Whether we have to put things in writing, publicly announce our plans, join a group working towards a common goal — our pursuit of productivity has made many of us less productive.

Remember, we can all dream of breaking through barriers, improving our technique and skills, but until we actually do develop a functional system towards this end, we are simply “Dry Swimming” — get in the water.