1−2 s · before the ball arrives
What the head does in the two seconds before the ball arrives.
The scan before the touch decides the touch. A player who watches the ball travel has already lost the picture — where the pressure is, where the space is. We coach the look, then the count, then the habit.
Coached as: two looks before every receipt
20 s · the touch
Where the first touch leaves the ball relative to the nearest defender.
A clean touch is not the standard. The standard is a touch into the space the defender cannot reach in one step — the first touch is the first pass, and it is played to yourself.
Coached as: touch away from pressure, into the next action
3+1 s · the plant
Where the standing foot points.
The pass goes where the standing foot points, not where the eyes look. Ten degrees off and the ball arrives a stride late, and a stride late is the difference between a pass and a turnover.
Coached as: plant to the target, every rep
4+1 s · the strike
Which part of the foot.
Inside, laces or outside. The surface chosen sets the weight and the spin of everything that follows, and most players never choose — they use whichever surface arrives first. We make it a decision.
Coached as: the surface is picked before the plant