Play With Your Brain: A Guide to Smarter Soccer for Players, Coaches, and Parents

This book offers a superb introduction to the tactics and strategies that will help soccer players perform at a high level. The emphasis is on teamwork and the importance of maintaining possession of the ball. Inspired by the example of the great Dutch player and coach Johan Cruyff, the author systematically covers eight essential elements – working together as a team to control the ball; moving into seams to ensure better passing; using the full width of the field; reaping the rewards of good vertical positioning; how to orient yourself to maximize your effectiveness; mastering techniques to help you play faster; when and how to apply pressure; and defending as a team effort. These themes and ideas are reinforced by excellent diagrams that illustrate specific situations on the field. The book includes a useful appendix for youth coaches, describing a series of training sessions that can help players develop good decision-making on the field while also improving their skills.I have played soccer both locally and internationally for many years, and I have never seen a better introduction to the basic ingredients of effective team play. It is clear, concise, and ideally suited for coaches and parents, as well as players who want to improve their game.

I've had the fortunate opportunity to play soccer with the author. Travis not only knows the great game of soccer as instructed in his book, but plays it as well. When an average soccer team has this kind of instruction and are all on the same page of team tactics, I would bet they would win the best of 5 games against a soccer team with mostly excellent skilled individual players (unless they have the rare likes of a Messi on their team). Travis uses quotes from the great Johan Cruyff, who was a star on the Holland soccer team. The Holland soccer team (if I recall correctly), were nicknamed "clockwork orange". The timing and chemistry of this team was something to behold, and possibly influenced Travis's knowledge and "team" soccer style of play at an early age. So Coaches out there, if you want to give your team it's best potential, buy and study this book, and most importantly apply it in your practice and scrimmages. Everyone on the same page = team fun and success!

The first action in all soccer efforts starts with a thought.  Finally, a book that helps address that first critical component of soccer, thinking, in a clear and concise way.  The book is well laid out and the chapters take you through basic principles of the game in meaningful ways with easy to understand terms like why "Possession is Precious" to how to "Pressure With A Purpose".This book is ideal for any new coach or parent, looking to understand the game. It was great for someone like me looking to simplify my coaching terminology, and I think it would be ideal for an entire team looking to get everyone on board thinking and playing as a cohesive unit.Chris S.Soccer Coach

This book is written in a very simple, clear and concise way that allows the reader to understand why the mental aspects of soccer are so critical and just as important to the game as the fundamentals.Travis makes this book interactive and thought provoking through the use of diagrams and the questions he presents to the reader.Not only have I read the book myself, but I have also read it with my own 12-year old twin daughters. They both have come away with a greater understanding of the game and it also helped them understand why their coaches ask them to do things certain ways.I purchased a bulk set of the book to do a book study with my High School JV and Varsity teams. We just completed year 3 of our program and many of the girls do not understand the mental side of the game. Just going over the preface and intro to chapter 1 has made a difference in the way they are performing during summer skill workouts! After everyone reads the book this year, my plan for future years is to have incoming freshman read it!

I have two little boys, 5 and 7, and they started to be interested in playing soccer since they started to walk. I have never played soccer, so I did not know much about it, except having seen many games in my life (being Italian, this is just something you grow up with).This book teaches you the techniques to play well and, and this is the most important, have fun while doing it. It teaches you not only how to control the ball, but also how to interact with your teammates to score and defend. My kids are starting to read independently, and they carry around their soccer book with them every time we go to the park to play. I still suck, but that’s my fault…. ;-)I highly recommend it!If you want to make playing soccer together into a new facility tradition, or you wish to find a way to reconnect with the kids and take them away from video games, this book is for you!

I really enjoyed this book -- as a lifelong soccer player, this book helps to articulate and diagram many of the ideas I've learned over time about the right way to play...and I've learned that playing well as a team with emphasis on possession is both much more fun and effective. And there are some great, less commonly discussed topics like how to properly receive the ball, thoughtful movement without the ball, and how to defend as a team with the goal of winning the ball back. And as a sometimes coach with a soccer-loving 5th grader, this book has many good ideas for youth coaches and players (e.g., don't just boot it downfield and word to fellow parents...don't just cheer because someone can kick it a long way...straight back to the other team). Highly recommend!

I highly recommend this book for all levels(coaches, players, parents etc…) The book is written in a simple, clear and concise way that allows the reader to understand why the mental aspects of soccer are so critical and just as important to the game as the fundamentals. Too many individuals focus on the physical aspect of the game when the art of Futebol is really played with your brain.I ended up purchasing a bulk set of the book for all of our coaches within our organization as well as for players in our High School Program.

What? A Football book written by an American with ‘Soccer’ in the title? What do Americans know about Football anyway?!…You’d be wrong though!I’m a Brit born and raised, played Football as a youth, grew up in the culture and went on to Uni in Sports & Exercise Sciences eventually teaching the same for 10 years in FE colleges around my region.With my daughter now playing Football too and in my search for an accessible book for her to read to further her understanding of the beautiful game, I fell upon this book having read an interview with the author. Not realising he was American at the time nor a world renowned Professor of Physics (!) , didn’t think anything of nationality or anything else, I just knew the man describing his ideas was born of a deep understanding of the game but also the views of an experienced teacher that had developed the craft to make complex subjects easy for anyone to understand and so accessible for anyone, including a young girl new to the game.Sure enough, as the book arrived through the post I started reading it immediately intrigued by the subtitles to find my suspicions further proven correct.The book is excellently structured and sequenced to allow principles discussed to build on the previous ones to eventually reveal a fairly complete view of the basic principles of the game as a coherent whole.The explanations go beyond merely describing the concept as most books by engaging the reader with problems to solve in a ‘multiple choice style’ with effective diagrams to assist before the author reveals his suggestions of which option is best with full reasoning provided that does so much more to help teach the reader to think for themselves, an essential part of teaching any subject.Despite the full detail, the writing style is accessible to anyone, not just those already versed in Football and it’s unique language, such that anyone from the young footballer to the parents that wish to learn more to help their son/daughter on their journey and even through to the experienced coach that might appreciate a different take on the ‘old game’ from a fresh perspective. I myself found moments in the discussion of concepts finding a deeper understanding of something already known to me because of the brilliantly put summary that added a new layer of clarity to an age old principle. For the player, this clarity then further assists decision making with no time wasted on recognising important cues or being caught between ideas of when it’s best to take a risk and when better to be conservative and retain possession.So, in short, if you’re considering buying this reasonably priced excellent Footballing book, jump to it as much awaits you!

He leído de un tirón el libro "Play with your Brain" de Travis Norsen. Travis explica de una manera muy clara y didáctica ocho conceptos básicos del fútbol moderno utilizando a Johan Cruyff como referente. Es una delicia de libro y un "must read" para chicos y chicas jóvenes que empiezan a jugar a fútbol, para padres y madres, para aficionados, y para futuros entrenadores. Lo váis a disfrutar seguro.

Have a good library of football training books, this one is kept super simple but explains everything you need to know to build some quality into a player or a team.