Every young soccer player wants to be fast — and speed absolutely helps. But at Divergente Sports, after reviewing thousands of soccer clips and highlight videos over the years, we can confidently say this: the fastest players aren’t always the best ones. The best ones are the athletes who combine speed with awareness, intelligence, and timing.
There’s physical speed, and then there’s decision speed — and the second one wins far more games.
Speed without purpose leads to wasted energy. Decision speed, however, creates threats. It confuses defenders. It dictates play. When we watch an athlete reel during sport recruitment, decision speed stands out immediately. It’s in the moments where an athlete plays one touch earlier than expected, where they anticipate pressure before it arrives, or where they move into space before the ball is released.
Those clips jump off the screen.
When we were athletes, coaches drilled into us that soccer is a game of anticipation. Now, as parents watching our kids develop, we see how decision speed can outshine physical acceleration. A player who reads the game half a second earlier can beat an opponent even if they’re slower in pure sprinting terms.
In every Divergente Sports highlight video, we look for those moments of intelligence — not just breakaways or fancy skills. The way an athlete turns before receiving the ball, the way they adjust body shape to protect possession, the way they scan the field before an attack — these details tell recruiters far more than a perfectly timed sprint.
Decision speed also reduces mistakes. Young players often rush because they believe speed equals success. But moving too quickly without reading the play leads to turnovers, missed passes, or forced decisions. The best athletes slow the game down internally even when it’s chaotic externally. Their minds stay calm even when their bodies are moving full pace.
This makes highlight videos cleaner, more impressive, and more representative of college-level readiness.
Parents often ask how to help their kids “look faster” on film. Our answer is always the same: help them look smarter, not faster. Teach them scanning habits. Encourage them to play in tight spaces. Review their highlight video with them and ask what they saw before they got the ball. Decision-making skills translate directly to athlete reels and recruiting videos.
At Divergente Sports, we’ve learned that coaches at the next level are not recruiting who can run the fastest at age 14. They’re recruiting who will be the smartest at age 20. And that’s why decision speed matters more. It’s the foundation of soccer IQ, and soccer IQ is what creates wins — and what shines brightest in every highlight video we create.
Smart players don’t chase the game — they guide it.
