How to Adjust Your Game on a Poor Playing Surface — The Soccer Mentor

Few of us will get the chance to play on the luscious, carpet-like playing surface of Premier League stadia. Even the good surfaces that exist all around the country at non-league grounds or academy training facilities are pipe-dream-pitches for millions, often reserved for cup finals, or, for the lucky few, contracted youth players.

With this in mind, the vast majority of amateur youth and adult players will have to make do with the village rec or the local school’s playing grounds as their surface of (forced) choice for most of their footballing careers.

But it can be tough to adapt to playing on a poor surface. This could be because you’ve dropped down the football pyramid and are used to playing on better pitches, you’ve played primarily on astro-turf over the years, or maybe your Sunday league side hasn’t got the funding to carry on renting a nicer venue.

So, how can you adapt to playing on a poor surface in order to maintain your standards?

You can positively impact your game on a bad pitch both in terms of what you do on the pitch, and how you prepare for the game (games) coming up.

Preparation is key in any avenue of life. Whether it’s a business meeting, a date, or indeed a football match, you need to prepare in some way.

In the sense of the latter, and in the context of playing a match on a bad pitch, you need to remember that the quality of the football on show is likely to decrease. This isn’t necessarily through the fault of the players on the pitch, but rather that the ball may hold up in mud or a soaked surface causes slips, skids and mistakes.

So, it’s important to prepare accordingly.

Tip #1 — Wear the right boots.

This first tip simply cannot be stressed enough. If you arrive at a Sunday League game on a bitter, wet Sunday morning in January wearing blades or moulded studs, you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Whilst blades may be acceptable on professional, drained, flat surfaces in winter, it’s more than likely that the local recreation ground won’t be so accommodating. And, regardless of how flat or well kept the pitch may seem at first sight, no natural surface will hold up entirely when it becomes heavy underfoot.

Metal studs, anti-clog boots, or hybrid blade/stud soles are the best choices of footwear for playing on a poor pitch. Metal studs will provide added grip on muddy surfaces by digging further into the turf. Anti-clog boots, whilst more expensive, tend to do what they say on the tin; anti-clog muddy football boots to increase the traction between stud and ground.

Blade/stud mix boots are also a viable option, and these are a good alternative for players who aren’t massive fans of wearing stud only boots. Some footballers find that metal studs raise the foot too high, or, in frosty weather, act as ice skates.

Regardless of the boot type that you select for playing on a poor surface, however, a bad pitch poses issues that can’t always be solved solely through footwear choice. So, on that note…

Tip #2 — Focus on the basics.

In truth, this advice goes for football generally, rather than only for when you’re playing on a bad surface.

Simplicity in football is an overlooked skill. On a muddy, uphill, torn up pitch, it’s a virtue that has to be upheld.

There are two key skills that, if mastered, will make your life a whole lot easier when the heavens begin to open and the pitch becomes a swimming pool: your first touch, and the weight of your passes.

In poor conditions, mistakes are much easier to make. Why? Well, because football becomes harder when the elements are against us. Not only are we feeling cold and therefore losing more energy keeping warm, but our legs can also become heavy, muscle injuries are easier to contract and the ball doesn’t move slickly enough to allow an attractive, free flowing game to develop.

In terms of your first touch, it’s important to get the ball under control, first and foremost. The more audacious players may enjoy trying to take skill touches to move past players quickly but given that the ball will be slippery and heavy, it’s worth slowing things down for a second, bringing the ball under control, and then moving the play on.

Your weight of pass should constantly be at the forefront of your mind on a poor surface. As we’ve explained, the ball could slow down or speed up uncontrollably which causes your pass to be unintentionally over- or under-hit. It’s always better to pass the ball a little harder in poor conditions to avoid being caught out by a pacey striker, even if it’s wet.

Similarly, try and keep the ball on the floor. Whilst this may sound counterintuitive if the pitch is bad, it will be even harder to play accurate cross-field passes in bad conditions. Getting enough height on the ball is hard enough when you’re kicking mud, and wind will become your worst enemy.

Tip #3 — Warm up…properly!

The warm up becomes ever more important as players work through the age groups. Your muscles and bones grow in your teenage years, and with this comes the potential for sprains, tears, strains and pulls.

Cold weather causes muscles to contract in order to conserve heat. However, when your muscles are tight for a long period of time (for example, a ninety-minute match), they’re more susceptible to pulling, straining or tearing.

Similarly, joints can stiffen which presents similar issues.

It’s always important to stretch properly before a football match, but especially when you’re playing on a poor surface and therefore likely in poor conditions, too. Stretch everything — not just your legs!

Similarly, you’ll want to get a feel for the ball in such conditions before you go out to kick off. A proper warm up on a poor surface should emphasise the basics, give players a taste of to what extent they’ll need to adapt and allow the body to properly prepare.

Originally published at https://thesoccermentor.com on February 5, 2021.