Working Fitness into Soccer Practices
How to Improve Conditioning During Training Sessions
Feb 24, 2009
In the preseason and during the course of the season, soccer coaches are challenged with getting players' fitness level up to par while still focusing on team tactics and techniques.
A team with all the physical ability in the world is no good unless they have the stamina to last the whole match.
Aside from tedious long-distance runs – which do have their place within soccer training – there is a wealth of methods for a coach to improve his team's fitness level within the framework of a practice.
Foot speed and Individual Ball Work
Another very important aspect of preseason and early-season training is footwork. A player's foot speed is his lifeline on the soccer pitch and coaches spend a lot of time focusing on it.
The most common footwork drills involve a lot of quick short motions, and if a coach can create a scenario where those motions are happening continuously without long periods of rest, he can do wonders for his team's fitness level.
Instead of having two lines of players running the drills through a set of cones, split the group up into four lines to minimize wait time. Make the players sprint or backpedal back to the end of the line instead of walking or jogging. Instead of telling the players they have to complete a certain number of reps, allot a certain amount of time for the drill.
Use Soccer Related Drills
Long distance running is imperative in preparing a player for an upcoming match, but stamina is not enough to keep a player fresh for the last 10, 15 or 20 minutes of a match.
In addition to running, coaches should make sure the players are incorporating the same type of muscle movements that are natural to a match.
Include short sprints followed by periods of jogging or occasional long sprints – 30 to 40 yards – followed by longer periods of jogging. Prepare fitness activities that require the player to use bursts of speed, changes of direction, jumping and balance.
A player will need to do all these things in a match again and again. By practicing them repetitively, he improves his ability to do them at a high level late in the match.
Let the Games Demand Fitness
No matter how good a player may be, he is sure to be exhausted after undergoing the mental and physical strains associated with playing a 70, 80 or even 90 minute match.
Scrimmages, small sided games and practice games should be physically demanding. “The game is the best teacher” is an old coach's saying, but it can also be applied to fitness. When a player sees first hand in practice how his fitness level affects his play, he's sure to take the steps needed to improve on match-day.
