The Understanding of Technique, Skill, and Fitness
by Roger Verdi

In my first article, we talked about what it takes to reach the highest level of football as an individual player.

In this article, I would like to discuss what technique, skill, and fitness are. I believe that it is not only important for young players to understand these three key elements but to understand how they work together. Football is an intelligent game; hopefully, coached and played by intelligent people. It is a game that requires all involved to keep an open mind; it is essential in receiving new ideas, essential to one's mental vitality, and essential to the individual progress of both player and coach.

So, what is technique? It is the single execution and performance of a pass, head, control, jump, or turn, and so on. Making decisions involve physical and mental elements.

What is skill? Skill is having the ability to be in the right place at the right time; able to select the correct techniques at demand. For any player, regardless of the level they are playing, to be deemed skillful, one has to acquire three key elements. Technique, of course being one, understanding, and fitness.

Understanding meaning understanding of what an individual player can do and what is necessary. Young players at times have the tendency to do something they cannot perform successfully, thereby making them an unskilled player. To be a skillful player, you have to have knowledge, vision, and perception; a player can be an excellent technical performer but may not have the qualities for being skillful. The simple fact is that the player does not understand or perceive when and where to use his various techniques. There is also the understanding of various areas of the field, the state of the game, the opposition, physical conditions, and of utmost importance, the understanding of the individual's safety and risk factors on the field.

The fitness involvment in technique and skill is a combination of both physical and mental prowess. However, no one knows or can determine where physical fitness ends and mental fitness begins. Technical abilities and skillful knowledge have very little value to the individual if they are not accompanied by fitness. It is common knowledge in any sport that when fatigue sets in, technical abilities deteriorate, concentration will lapse and judgment will falter.

So, we say that skill in football is concerned with judgment, selections, and making decisions.

In my next article, we will discuss all the techniques and a few that are very commonly used during a 90 minute game, with a strong bearing on individual performance.

Till then, stay committed and focused and pay atttention to your education.