There is a saying that describes a great many athletes — “The mediocre are always at their best.”

Being mediocre is easy. You kind of bop through life getting by with the minimum amount of work, not making too many mistakes, and trying hard to look like you are trying hard.

Being mediocre is fine if that is what you want. But to reach the next level, you need to take responsibility for your own improvement. Do it on your own time, and the results will astound you.

We all know about the “gym rats” who shoot hoops for hours and hours and end up being proficient from three-point range. Or the quarterback who fires bullets through an old tire swing while growing up. Or the baseball pitcher who dented his garage door every day.

Soccer players are no different. The ones you see on television all spend a great deal of time creating ways to improve. And they do it without a coach present.

When a soccer player sets out to improve his or her game, he or she concentrates on four areas, or pillars, of the game — technical, tactical, physical and psychological. Here are some tips on how to work on each.

Technical
The technical, or skills, part of the game, obviously, is very important. If you can’t receive the ball, dribble it, pass it, shoot it or head it, you’re not going to be very successful, are you?

Inquiring about how to improve your ball skills will get you the simplistic advice of “play with the ball more.” And that’s exactly what you should do. “But what do I do with it?” you ask.

First, you have to be creative and eliminate every excuse you can come up with for not being able to work out with the ball.

To work on your dribbling, you can make obstacle courses to weave through. Be sure to make them difficult. Everything you do should challenge both your talent level and stretch your stamina.

You probably have a racquetball court near you. Or at least a wall of some sort. Here are some things to do:

Work on receiving the ball by simply knocking it against the wall and concentrating on your first touch of the ball as it ricochets back at you. After you have become adept at settling, or trapping, the ball, start preparing it so it is easy for you to knock against the wall again. After you’ve mastered that, work on preparing it to knock against the wall on your right, then behind you, then to your left until you’ve made a full circle.

You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to receive a ball when you get back on a real field.

A racquetball court is also a tremendous place to work on shooting. Repetition is a key ingredient in developing an accurate shot, and in a racquetball court, the ball always returns to you.

When you begin, don’t just start smacking the ball with all your might. Work on the proper technique and motion. You will be able to clearly see how well you’ve struck the ball by the way it comes off the wall. Be sure you are hitting it cleanly. Similar to when you hit a tennis ball or baseball well, you’ll feel it when you strike it right.

You can combine shooting with receiving by trying to collect your shot off the wall and preparing to hit it again. When you get really advanced, you’ll be able to hit your rebound back at the wall without settling the ball first.

Tactical
There is no replacement for knowing the tactics of the game. Being a smart player is often the great equalizer. There are countless examples in every sport of players who are not as skilled or as athletically inclined as the rest, but they are superior players simply because of their knowledge of the game.

There are many ways to improve your game-smarts. The best way is to simply watch games. Pay attention to the formation the teams are playing — how many defenders, midfielders and forwards. Look to see how the team likes to attack. Does it hit the long ball over top the defense? Does it pass through its midfield? Does it attack down the wings or through the middle? Does it play a zone or a man-to-man defense? Who are the important players?

Take a look at the players playing the position you play. Are they doing anything different than what you do? What can you learn from them? What runs do they make and when do they make them?

If at all possible, sit with a coach, or within earshot of a coach. Ask questions.

If there are no games to see in your area, buy some videos. Study them, and when you see a goal, rewind it -- way back to the beginning of the play -- to see how it all started. What was the key play and whose fault was it?

Physical
This means fitness, and there is no substitute for it. You don’t have to be the best player on the field, or the smartest. But if you are in the best shape, you have a huge advantage.

Don’t assume hard practices will get you in top condition. Fitness requires work away from organized practice sessions and a year-round commitment.

There is a huge variety of fitness regimens to follow. You can improve your endurance, your speed, your quickness and your strength — upper body and lower body.

Players who want to improve overall fitness should contact an “expert.” This can be a soccer coach, a physical education instructor, a track coach or another qualified individual. Remember, soccer requires a completely different set of muscles to be trained. Be specific when you ask for advice.

Psychological
The fourth pillar of soccer is viewed by many to be the most important. The psychological dimension is a quality that most coaches look for when choosing their teams.

But how do you work on it? Easy. The psychological aspect of soccer, or any sport for that matter, has to do with attitude.

When things don’t go your way, do you whine about it or do you make a joke about it? Attitude is contagious, and if you are going to infect your teammates, it should be with positive qualities.

Attitude will help you when it comes time to train on your own, making it easier to impact on your own improvement. It’s all about accepting responsibility. Your coach and parents can only take you so far. The rest is up to you.

By taking charge of your attitude — accepting blame when it is yours to take and taking credit when it truly belongs to you — is a huge step toward improving.

If there is one thing players can do to combine all four pillars, it is playing one-on-one with a friend.

One-on-one games are very demanding, which incorporates the physical aspect of soccer. It requires you to be able to dribble, defend and shoot, putting the technical aspect of the game in play. You have to scheme and plot, enhancing your tactical understanding. And one-on-one is psychologically hardening. You learn what it takes to win, bringing out the dueler in you.

So what are you waiting for? There are teams to make, goals to score and games to win. Get a ball and get started. And no whining.

-- Article courtesy of USSoccerPlayers.com