10 Mistakes Football Players Make Every Week, And How To Fix Them

Every week in Joner Football sessions, we see the same mistakes showing up.

Some are technical. Some are mentality habits. Most of them are fixable if players and coaches know what to look for.

The important thing is this: these are not rare mistakes. They happen in normal training sessions, with normal players, every single week.

If you are a player, use this as a checklist. If you are a coach, use it to sharpen your sessions and drive better standards.

1. Poor Bounce Passes

Passing drills break down quickly when the bounce pass is too hard, too bubbly, or played into the wrong space.

A bounce pass should help the next player. It should control the tempo, keep the drill alive, and let the receiver move cleanly into the next action.

The fix is simple. Take weight off the pass. Play it softer. Make the ball easy to receive.

That does not mean lazy. It means controlled.

When the bounce pass is right, the session flows. When it is wrong, players spend more time chasing loose balls than improving.

2. First Touch Panic

A poor first touch happens. Even good players get one wrong.

The bigger mistake is what happens next.

Too many players panic after a bad touch. The ball bobbles up, gets stuck under their feet, or bounces away, and then they rush the next action. That is when the drill breaks down completely.

Players need to stay calm. If the first touch is not perfect, take another touch and keep the session going.

Coaches need to build this into training too. Have spare balls ready. Mistakes are part of the game. The aim is not perfect touches every time. The aim is better reactions when the touch is not perfect.

3. Passing Without Eye Contact

This one is massive.

Players receive the ball, stare at it, keep their head down, and then pass without ever looking at the target.

At that point, the pass becomes a guess.

The fix is to receive, get your eyes up, see the target, then play. Two eyes before the pass. That is what improves accuracy.

Top passers like Kevin De Bruyne and Steven Gerrard are brilliant because they see pictures early. They are not just kicking the ball. They are passing to information.

If players want cleaner passing, they have to stop playing blind.

4. Lazy Passing With No Tempo

You do not need Messi-level talent to pass with energy.

Lazy passes kill the tempo of a session. The ball moves slowly, players stand flat-footed, nobody talks, and the whole drill feels dead.

Good passing sessions need urgency. Players should be on their toes. The ball should move quickly. There should be energy in every action.

If you are a player, that energy has to come from you.

If you are a coach, you have to drive it. Otherwise the session becomes flat, especially in passing drills where the whole point is speed, rhythm, and sharp decision-making.

5. Training Without Position-Specific Detail

Too many players train what they enjoy, not what their position demands.

Centre backs, holding midfielders, and full backs often spend their extra time doing shooting drills, free kicks, and flashy finishing work.

There is nothing wrong with loving the game and getting extra touches in. That should be praised.

But if you want to improve properly, you need to train specific to your position.

A centre back needs receiving angles, scanning, first pass quality, defending actions, and composure under pressure.

A holding midfielder needs body shape, awareness, bounce passes, protection of the ball, and forward passing options.

A full back needs receiving on the move, defending one-v-one, crossing, recovery runs, and playing through pressure.

Train what the game will actually ask you to do.

6. Waiting For The Coach To Start Everything

High-level players do not wait around looking lost before training.

They arrive with intent. They have a routine. They start preparing their body and their mind before the coach has to tell them.

Younger players often turn up, stand still, and wait for the coach to give the first instruction.

That is a habit problem.

Players need to be proactive. Start moving. Start warming up. Start getting touches. Start preparing to train properly.

The best players do not waste the first part of a session switching on.

7. Taking Too Long To Get Going

Some players need 20 or 30 minutes before they properly start training.

In a match, that can be the difference between starting well and being two or three goals down.

Training should prepare players to perform from minute one. That means the warm-up is not just about the body. It is about the mind too.

Players need to be ready to think, scan, communicate, move, and compete as soon as the session starts.

If they only wake up halfway through, they have already lost valuable development time.

8. Relying On The Coach For Energy

A coach can bring energy. A coach can set standards. A coach can drive tempo.

But players should not rely on the coach to make the session feel alive.

The best players are brilliant to work with because they arrive with energy already. Their body language is strong. Their passing has intent. Their communication lifts the group.

The difficult players are the ones who look flat, pass lazily, and need constant reminders just to bring basic energy.

If you love the game, show it in the way you train.

Do not wait for the coach to drag it out of you.

9. Not Knowing What To Communicate

Coaches often shout, “communicate more.”

The problem is that many players do not actually know what to say.

Telling a player to be louder is not enough. Coaches need to teach the information players should give.

Useful communication includes:

• •Turn
• •Man on
• •Bounce
• •Time
• •Set
• •Space
• •Hold it
• •Great touch
• •Play forward

Communication should help the drill, the teammate, and the next action.

If players are not communicating, do not just tell them to talk. Teach them what useful information sounds like.

10. Not Evaluating Yourself

This might be the most important mistake on the list.

Too many players finish training, get in the car, and forget about the session.

Too many coaches finish a session and move straight onto the next one without asking whether the work actually transferred.

Evaluation is where improvement becomes deliberate.

Players should ask:

• •What did I do well?
• •What did I struggle with?
• •What mistake kept repeating?
• •What do I need to improve next session?
• •If my game was recorded, have I watched it back?

Coaches should ask:

• •Did the drill work?
• •Did the players understand the detail?
• •Did the session solve the match problem?
• •Was the tempo good enough?
• •What needs changing next time?

If you do not evaluate, you stay at the same level.

Be your own harshest critic. That is how you improve.

The Bigger Lesson

Most development does not come from one magic drill.

It comes from better habits repeated every week.

Cleaner passes. Better first touches. Eyes up before playing. More tempo. More position-specific training. Stronger preparation. Better energy. Clearer communication. Honest evaluation.

These are the details that separate players who just attend training from players who actually improve.

If you want help building better habits, the Joner Football App has sessions, drills, and coaching detail for players, coaches, and parents.

Train with purpose. Evaluate properly. Improve every week.