That’s what’s being drummed into me at the moment.

I’ve been working hard on my fitness, awareness, agility and pace. But working on developing my soccer skills is what I enjoy the most.

I can spend hours in the garden working with the ball, keeping it as close as possible to my feet with balance while perfecting my Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Cruyff.

These are all tricks that are named after the great players who mastered and used them to brilliant effect. If I can master just a couple of these tricks and bring them to my match play, i’ll have everything in place to reach my goal of playing professional soccer.

So, really I don’t mind my coach pushing me to spend time mastering these soccer skills on top of my training schedule. I don’t mind spending hours practising kick-ups, so I have better control of the ball. I don’t mind because without this commitment, I won’t reach my goal.

Above all, I don’t mind because I love playing soccer and want to make sure I have every chance to play professionally.