What Are the Requirements to Become a Professional Soccer Player?
Anyone wishing to become a professional soccer player must have a great deal of technical skill, be in superb physical condition, develop excellent tactical knowledge and ability and be psychologically prepared for life as a professional soccer player. Once all these requirements are fulfilled, an aspiring professional soccer player needs to perform well at professional team tryouts.
Technical skills required by professional soccer players include excellent ball control skills with the ability to dribble, pass and shoot with either foot and with the head. Professional players also need extremely strong speed, physical strength, agility, stamina and acceleration, plus the ability to demonstrate explosive power when needed.
An aspiring soccer player should join a top level youth soccer club and attempt to capture the attention of professional scouts. It is sometimes possible to request a tryout with a professional team. If an aspiring player has a chance to try out for a pro team, he should behave as if he is the captain of his team during the tryout and shouldn’t play it safe in any way. The aspiring player must also realize that factors other than just his playing on the field affect the final decision of the team. Other factors taken into account include the player’s age, his citizenship and visa status, the team’s need for his position and the team’s financial situation.
