What a year 2022 has been! For soccer enthusiasts, this year has been nothing short of exciting. There’ve been insane moments involving players, teams, goals, and, most memorably, the FIFA World Cup! We got to bask in the excitement of watching some of our favorite players hit the pitch for their last game, see strikers break records, and finally see one of the world’s most favored players take home the World Cup trophy. As we head into the new year, it’s time to think about what you can do to become the best player you can be. If you can’t think of anything, here are some New Year’s resolutions to make 2023 your best playing year yet!

1. Focus More on Your Technique

You may think that once you’ve got the basics of the game down, you never need to practice them again. Wrong! The moment you think you’ve perfected a skill is the moment you stop improving. Take some time after each practice to work on technical aspects of the game. Work on your ball control, quick touches, shooting and passing every chance you get!

2. Take on Feedback

It can be scary sometimes receiving feedback from your coach or even your friends, but the only way you are going to improve is by embracing it rather than ignoring it! Yes, it can be embarrassing hearing all of the things you’re doing wrong, but look at feedback as a great thing instead of a bad thing.

3. Work on Strength and Conditioning

Most soccer players only try to improve their cardiovascular health to allow them to stay up to pace on the pitch, but your muscular strength is just as important. It’s important in soccer to have strong core and leg muscles to keep up with the demanding game. Strength training doesn’t mean committing to hitting the weights every day, but create a healthy balance between cardio exercise and improving your strength.

4. Learn One New Skill a Month

If you’re someone who likes to pull out a crazy skill during the game or show off to your friends, try to learn at least one new soccer skill a month. By the end of the year, you’ll have learned 12 new skills to show off! If you need some inspiration on what cool skills to learn, check out our “Soccer Tricks that will Impress your Friends” blog to inspire you.

5. Focus on Yourself

As easy as it can be to compare yourself to your friends and teammates, go into the new year with the mindset to only focus on your skill improvement. It’s easy to get jealous when your friend learns a new skill, or scores more goals than yourself, but we all grow at our own pace. There’s no rush to become the best player, so focus on your own skill progress and worry less about the players around you!

6. Create a Practice Space at Home

If you don’t already have a space at home to work on your soccer skills, make one this new year! Once you create a safe space to practice by yourself or even with your friends, you’ll be more eager to practice. If you don’t get to try something new at practice, you can look forward to going home and doing it there.

7. Watch More of the Sport

Your love for soccer and improving doesn’t have to end when practice does. If you want to become inspired and keep up with the latest skills, watch your favorite players during their matches. You can improve your soccer knowledge by watching the game on TV or try to see if your city has any public games you can watch in the summer!

8. Try Out a New Position

Once you become comfortable in your position the thought of trying out a new one rarely enters your mind. This new year, ask your coach if you can try a new position during a friendly game or just during practice. Look at it as you’re becoming an all-around player if you can master all of the positions. And who knows, maybe you’d excel at a different position, and you didn’t even know it!

9. Improve Your Passing and Shooting Accuracy

Encourage yourself and your friends to work on your passing and shooting accuracy as often as you can. You may think you’ve perfected these easy skills, but you can always improve them. Make it fun by doing target practice at least once a week to work on the accuracy of where you’re passing or shooting the ball. This will make you feel more confident going into a game, knowing you can pass the ball exactly where you want it to go!

10. Be a Role Model

You never know who’s watching you from the sidelines during a game or even during practice. Every time you tie up your cleats, think about having a positive attitude and work ethic. Take every game and practice as a learning opportunity to improve and become a better player. You should set a good example for your teammates and any younger players who are watching you play!

We’re all excited to see what the new year has in store for everyone! There are loads of tournaments and games to look forward to as players and viewers. If you want to improve your soccer skills in the new year, check out our Pinterest board where we have saved a bunch of drills you can try!