Too often, young players get so nervous and uptight when the ball is coming to them that their first touch goes so far away they never get an opportunity for a second touch.  Or, when they do possess the ball, they are so nervous that they end up kicking the ball away too quickly and end up losing possession anyway.

When a ball is coming to you, there are a number of ways to stay in control and not feel pressured into doing something you don’t have to do.

First of all, try to have as much information as possible before receiving the ball.  Look around as the ball is coming to you and know what your options are (in this case, knowing your options in advance will allow you more time once the ball gets to you).  Know where you can pass to, whether you have time to receive the ball or whether you have to play one touch, whether you have space and time or not etc.

Secondly, right before the ball gets to you, take a deep breath and then exhale.  This will help you to relax just before the ball arrives.

Thirdly, don’t worry about what happened before.  If you mis-hit a pass earlier or had a bad touch earlier, don’t let that effect what you do next.  Don’t keep worrying about the an earlier error to the point it causes you to make yet another mistake.  You can learn from prior mistakes but don’t let an earlier error put so much pressure on you to the point it causes another one.

The long term solution to learning to relax with the ball is to simply get more comfortable with the ball.  Whether it’s by doing skill drills, juggling, dribbling or playing more games, the more you have the ball at your feet, the more comfortable you will be and the easier it will be for you to relax with the ball.

The more you can relax with the ball the more successful you will be.