Warning this article is for focused players and coaches who want to get serious.

The most elusive question about soccer is the one that asks how to create players that perform with Pele-like renditions of the “beautiful game.”

These players seem to glide effortlessly across the field, pulling sombreros, dribble de vacas, oles, and any of the other intangible moves that deceive the most ardent of defenders and amaze spectators on fields across the globe.

Creativity lies in those players that dare to create within the game, who approach every game as another chance of creating the unbelieving and thrilling moves that make soccer a game of genius.

If you expect to create on the field, Ronaldinho-style—be sure to remember to develop your ball control skills and work to open up your vision. These two abilities are integral in your imagination connecting to the field. Without control of the ball, and the ability to find your teammates, creativity will always frustrate you on the pitch, leading to turnovers, misplaced passes, and fingers pointed in your direction.

If you’re not truly confident in your touch, check out our innovative soccer training systems for ways to develop your ball skills. We can also help to open up your mind and understanding of the game.

Coaches and parents, remember to focus on the individual skills of your players and encourage touch and individualism, especially at the youngest ages, to develop the natural talent of the player.

Try not to discourage, or stereotype players into “less important” positions because of their inadequacies. Train players to better their overall ball-control and to play within the positional roles of the game.

While creativity is rooted in the class of the individual player, it is really the overall development of a team of players that allows that creativity to shine through.

So, to capture the essence of playing soccer creatively, you must provide an environment where enough of your players are being developed with proper base skills, but not holding those players to emulate that exact skill every time they enter a situation. It will be up to them to imagine themselves getting out of it and then making it reality.

You don’t hear it very often, or maybe you hear it all the time, but don’t reflect. Nonetheless, when you do hear it from time-to-time and understand it, you bask in the sublime glow of that age old soccer adage—keep it simple.

It couldn’t have come at a better time. George Boateng, Dutch International and EPL veteran, just recently gave an interview in which he reminded the world about that very soccer paradox.

When asked about the best advice he ever received, the EPL’s Middlesbrough captain, gave insights into his professional development, speaking about Ronald Koeman’s suggestion and insistence to keep the game simple.

He even added to this enigma by reminding everybody that while the idea sometimes seems too simple, it’s difficult to understand.

Think upon all the youth games that you have experienced, where the simple pass (i.e. the 5 yrd. square ball) was overlooked for the “golden” or “hopeful” ball that is forced and encouraged continually on fields across America.

There is a Soccer Fallacy within the American game which states that a player must be moving to receive a pass; moreover, 9-out-of-10 times the pass is always assumed to be a forward pass.

Remember coaches, as you kick-start this new season, to reinforce short, triangular passing; transition passing from the defense to midfield, and then to the forwards; as well as, encourage take-overs and quick one-twos to move the ball quickly and deceptively across the field. If you stay true to this “simple” approach, you will be rewarded with games that go way beyond the predictable single-pass approach, and be able to open up the game for quality expression and even the spectacular.

Americans will always compete. The question is when will the U.S. understand the game? When we can answer that, medals will not be far behind.