Soccer conditioning
It’s a known fact that a soccer conditioning program provides a strong base for a team’s success. Without strength, agility, and endurance, all of which are build as a result of soccer exercises, the players cannot even dream of being fit for a tournament, leave alone winning it.
Still, your team or you may face situations where there is paucity of time to train ahead of a tournament. But you don’t need to compromise on the conditioning exercises because of this. You don’t want your players to get injured before or during the game.
Any well laid down soccer fitness training plan can lead to training players completely in just 3 days time. All that is required is sincerity, good plan, and execution. These are some guidelines that lead to short but useful conditioning plans.
Warming up: Instruct the players to start with any of the following; a five minute jog, high knees, jumping, or heel flicks. In the meanwhile, find time to rest to a minute or so. Then do some stretching for another 5 minutes that will tone up the muscles. These soccer workouts must include every important muscle group in it.
Soccer Fitness
Running: Some coaches make their players do continuous rounds of running. While that is not bad, I recommend that you make the players do soccer-specific running. It implies that they do running, jogging, walking, and sprinting in no set order for about half an hour.
This running at varying speeds builds stamina and also helps players control their body. And they do not feel tired since a walk after a sprint keeps the heart rate normal.
Just let the individual players decide on what they wish to do and when. If they want to do sprinting for a longer time but only limited jogging, even that is fine. As the kids develop more strength and energy, you can increase the length of the soccer conditioning program by 10 minutes.
Stretching: Impress upon the kids to do stretching after the match as well as a training session. Concentrate on including the whole body but emphasize on hamstrings, groins, quads, calves and lower back. Ensure that the stretching postures are longer than the warm-up sessions. Generally, 20 to 30 seconds is a good duration.
A day before the match, make the players rest. This will make the muscles build up strength as well as negate the possibility of injuries. Also, use this time to discuss your plan with the team and encouraging them.
Share some lighter moments as well so that they get into a great mental shape in addition to the physical one.
Believe me! As soon as you apply these techniques to your training sessions, your players will start benefitting from it. If you wish to know more about soccer conditioning, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community and equip yourself with loads of relevant information.
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Drills For Kids.
Tags: conditioning for soccer, Soccer conditioning, soccer exercises, soccer fitness, soccer fitness training, soccer workouts