For U14 and up, players with good intangible qualities make a good team
Time spent during the week together as a team is relatively short. In most cases, the majority of U-14 and older travel teams practice for a total of 3 to 5 hours a week. So what else are players supposed to do to prepare to play in games besides that? The answer lies within the intangible qualities of the players on each particular team. In most cases, teams that have gone undefeated and/or won championships have players with wonderful intangible qualities. These traits are often overlooked when coaches evaluate players.
Tangible qualities are things that can be measured in relation to technical ability. Players sometimes believe that if a fellow player has some good technical skills that they must automatically be a good soccer player. This could not be further from the truth. How does that player react when times get tough in a game and he/she starts to get tired? Do they lift their teammates up to push through the tough times in practice and in games? Or do they start to feel sorry for themselves if they are caught in a tough game, losing 1-0?
There is no test for coaches to look for it, but players must be able to feel it on their team if they want to experience the ultimate success on the field as a group. In soccer as in life, everybody wants to win whenever they play any game……it’’s willing to prepare to win, on AND off the soccer field, that can make all the difference in the end.
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