Through this company we run five day camps, and on these camps certain players get scout reports on their football ability. Now we have seen hundreds of these reports written by professional scouts on individual players. In these reports, there are four different sections, and the first, longest and most detailed is the one on Technical Ability. Clearly, then, a player’s technical ability is of fundamental importance when assessing how good a player an individual footballer is.
So, what are the technical attributes that are considered so important? First you need to have an accomplished first touch. Can you control the ball and manipulate it effortlessly, and so demonstrate your ball mastery? Can you pass the ball confidently with either foot? The reports look at your passing ability with both feet over different distances. Can you deliver the right weight of pass? This is an underestimated skill, but can make such a huge difference to the effectiveness of a pass, or otherwise. Do you scan your shoulders? Is your body shape right when you receive the ball? Are you confident on the ball? Have you got time for a heads up, so you are aware? They look at your position specific skills and for a good technical foundation across the board. For goalkeepers for example, they will be looking at your distribution skills as well as your reflexes, positioning, catching and shot stopping.
But alongside this at any match you play in, a scout present will notice the way you express yourself on the pitch. Try and stay relaxed. Don’t let the occasion get to you. Take some big ‘belly breaths’. Do the simple things well, and occasionally show a spark of something that’s better than just good, to showcase your skills to the watching scouts, and help you stand out.
Why are they looking so hard at your technical ability? Let’s imagine you are 15 years old playing in the under 15’s. To get into a pro academy at this age probably means replacing someone who is already there. Now these players already at the academy will be desperate to get a scholarship in a year’s time, so they will be practicing and training really hard. These are the boys you have got to be better than. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.
All of them were good technically, or they would not have been picked.