The REAL Truth About Going Pro in 2024

This Video is sponsored by Betterhelp. Head to betterhelp.com/footballfolk to get 10% off your first month of therapy :)

I wish for every young baller to find this channel…everything you explain makes so much sense. This channel is a gem!

Do the basics, play it simple, good lifestyle and nutrition, and working on the extras... simple recap of the video to make it pro. That's what I am doing and it's gonna pay off

As a lifelong player, one who travelled across the pond to Europe to try my luck, I look back and feel as if now it is harder more than ever. Just twelve years ago, tech (analytics, systems, monitoring, video) was not where it was today. I coach competitive youth soccer and now high pods are almost becoming mandatory for clubs... at U8... That will only make it harder for today's young players to stand out, but easy for organizations to scout and select what they need to fit their specific systems. The soccer world is changing so incredibly fast, especially the commercial aspects. Mental fortitude is now even more crucial for any success and I can confidently admit that I was not there then to compete at the highest level. Best of luck to our future pros!

As a keeper, this video 1000% It has long since been not the case to be simply a shot stopper. Coaches and teams expect you to have just as much footwork and quality on the ball as the other 10 playing in front of you. You are also expected to take sting out of attacks, while unleashing hell on the other side's back line, while never forgetting that if you screw up, there almost always is no one to bail you out. Not for the faint of heart. I appreciate the constant push for having a strong mental prowess, both in health and awareness. This is the bedrock and sediment for simply being able to endure. This often times is what allows you determine what is passing pain and what is crippling pain and being able to carry on through the best and worst of it all. #COYG

Hands down the best football channel that could explain the minute detail so easily without over complicating things and touching those topics which most youtubers won't. ❤️

Its so true about doing the simple things well and showing maturity Maturity equals good decision making Be it when to play the back pass, or to turn left ,to turn right, to see the long pass into space or the short pass to a team mate In space , to give and go or to stay etc etc I could go on and on None of them need be technically difficult but so many techinically excellent players struggle with doing this I have learned this so clearly lately My 11 year old son is on an elite players program or the academy of a Pro club is based In the Ile de France region This area has been called the worlds biggest talent factory ? So its incredibly competitive , just to get to that level at all I guess he is better than 95% of the other kids his age in the country BUT I remind him constantly , what matters is that he ENJOYS playing the game, we have never pushed him, he's only 11 but I think there is some natural talent In the family as his cousin is pro in Frances Ligue one and captains his team , we've seen him play against Messi, Mbappe, Neymar and win which Is hard to process having seen him when he the same age as my son was playing in the grandparents garden Anyway, the point I really want to make Is my son is not the fastest or flashiest player in the team Thats not to say he doesn't have execllent techinical skills , he does all these kids do but its not the way he plays Every week I see a dozen new "Mbappes", so fast , so tricky and great at all the flashy things and he has to play against these kids every week and try to stop them I fear for him ! But HE is his coaches favourite player , not the guy dribbling round half the team or as fast as lightening He plays as a left sided Defender , he's the biggest strongest kid in the team which helps ,every game I see this other kids bounce off him and he's not afraid if a tackle or a crunch I turned up late at one of his games a couple of weeks ago and the very first thing I saw was him flatten some right winger who tried to run by him leaving the poor kid in tears on the floor for 5 minutes And he has a great left foot , for a kid his age , powerful, accurate passer long or short so he now takes all the free kicks and the ball from the keeper But I think what I think the coaches love about him is he IS so coachable He is always listening , he Is able to take instructuon and change his positions and how he plays during a game and his awareness ThIs means hIs CEILING is high and part of this is because he MAKES himself COACHABLE self aware and mature for his age All hIs coaches before always said he had fantatsic vision for a child his age, and maturity which means that on the pitch he makes the right decisions more often than not, be it the simple short pass down the line for his teams own Mbappes to run onto or the crossfield pass into space or the simple back pass or a block or tackle, always being In the right place and position as the last man etc I've learned from watching so many many talented young players over the last few years that this is why he Is his coaches favourite player I couldn't understand at first ! Yes he Is the fastest left foot dribbler in the drills in the team, I'm not trying to say he does have excellent technical abiity and he is physically very strong BUT so do hundreds of other kids , thousands of other kids But he stands out , and thats what you need to do as a player , find a way to stand out, because of his maturity and coachability and decision making , not the flashy things they see week in week out , he has a high ceiling because of this , the coaches look at him and think here Is a player who we can mould and coach into a BETTER player Its not always about what you are now but what Is your POTENTIAL , have you reached your ceiling of coachability , both SELF and by others I just wanted to share this because Its honestly what I have learned from just watching him and the way the coaches like him and asking myself why? I think its goes perfectly with what was said in this video about football being a simple game complicated BY footballers because when you get a player come along who seems to understand this it makes them standout, not all the fancy flashy stuff people are obsessed with and I guess thats what the coaches like so much about him We have never pushed him , quite the opposite and I have no idea at 11 if he'll ever play professionally at any level , so very very few do for so many reasons, and It doesn't matter I just want him to be the best he can be , whatever that Is and love playing Sorry for the long post

Now I understand why Ronaldo put so much emphasis on hard work. He is the perfect modern footballer. He knew in his early United days that talent wasn’t going to be enough. Just fancy skills weren’t going to help the team. This is why young players admire him.

The mental side of the game isnt stressed enough

This man is giving us betterhelp for this video and setting up the foundation for next comp. Pure class

You videos are much more relastic than any other videos.. And i am agree with "keep it simple"

Very good video. I really enjoyed your explanations. I think one component that is missing (that could've been maybe been weaved into the maturity message) is leadership..... football is a team game. I tell all my players that, if when you play, you are not helping your teammates play better, you simply are not a high performer.

Thank you coach ive seen you on Instagram im so glad you have a YouTube channel keep doing what your doing ur really helping a lot of people

Mate your videos are classy. On to the point, simple to understand. Thank you for putting so much effort to your videos for us to watch !

Love your work as always, another excellent video. Thank you.

Finally not 1 of them same videos as everyone Else saying go Apply for Big academies n if ur over 20 its too late

Bro NO WAY you got over 100k. When I first came to watch your videos you had like only 2k man. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Hey Tony! Any plans for videos on pressing / winning the ball back and building up an attack?

God Bless bro, So Thankful I found this channel as a young soon to be pro footballer ❤️

Exactly what I needed for my lunch :p Have a good day!