You’ve probably heard it a hundred times that a basic soccer conditioning program is at the core of a team’s success. The result of following soccer exercises is strength, agility, and endurance which permit them to be called fit for the game, let alone winning it.
However, there may be situations when you and your team do not get enough days to train before a tournament. This does not suggest you to cut back on your conditioning exercises. You don’t intend to see your players suffering injuries during or prior to the game.
If a soccer fitness training series is devised correctly, even 3 days time would be sufficient to train the players fully. All that is required is sincerity, good plan, and execution. Here are a few tips to work with short but effective conditioning programs.
Warming up: Tell the players to kick off with any of these; a five minute jog, heel flicks, high knees, or jumping. Take adequate rest for a few seconds in between. This should be followed by some stretching of muscles for about 5 minutes to tone them up. Make it a point that these soccer workouts comprise of all the key muscle groups.
Running: Some coaches tend to make their players do continuous running. Though it’s absolutely ok, but in my opinion the players should be made to practice only soccer specific running. This leads to the fact that they do running, jogging, walking, and sprinting in no set order for half an hour.
Running like this at different levels helps the players build stamina and exercise control over their body. Also, they do not get fatigued since a walk after a sprint balances things out.
Leave it to the individual players to decide what they want to do and when. If they enjoy doing sprints more than jogging, that is OK. As the players get fitter and their stamina increases, you can increase the duration of your soccer conditioning program by another 5 to 10 minutes.
Stretching: Instruct the players to do it religiously; both before and after the match or a training session. Focus on the entire body but give special attention to hamstrings, groins, quads, calves and lower back. Keep in mind that the stretching positions should be longer than the warm-up sessions. Usually, 20 to 30 seconds is perfect.
Instruct the players to take adequate rest a day before the match. This will make the muscles build up strength as well as negate the possibility of injuries. It is also a good time to have a discussion with them and boost their confidence.
Crack jokes so that they get relieved of tension.
Understand me! Once you start to apply this to your training practice sessions, you’ll watch your players perform like hard core professionals on field. To know more about soccer conditioning, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community which will leave you richer with resources on youth soccer.
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.