Technical training is mandatory to be a good player and have success on the field. A high level player (or a player that aspires to play at a high level) MUST have a great first touch, make good decisions quickly, and posses overall mastery of the ball. Great ball control allows you to increase your speed of play, poor ball control will make it nearly impossible to play with speed from both tactical and physical standpoints. The second area that suffers is the players confidence, confidence is a key trait to becoming a (consistent) elite player.
Players with superior ball control usually have more impact due to the fact they can:
- combine with team mates to advance the ball
- dribble out of danger
- make less mistakes with the ball
- play with confidence and purpose
A good first touch directly improves the players:
- speed of play
- executing game strategies and tactics
- composer /clarity