Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Truth About Soccer Conditioning



Soccer conditioning is one topic which is always on people’s mind wherever you go. It takes a lot of money to hire certified trainers to further teach the players. The plan actually is to get new and innovative soccer schemes into play and train the players on the same. The motive actually is to train the kids in the best possible way so as to compete at a higher level.

I have had several opportunities to observe the way the coaches conduct soccer fitness sessions for kids. They start by instructing the players to take a couple of laps around the field.

Then a few minutes later, the "training session" moves to a "drill" requiring half of the Players to dribble in and out of cones while the other half run in what is called "suicides."

Usually, trainers tend to follow this approach to take their training sessions further.

In this, the players need to run forward to a spot, and then run backwards to where they began, then run further to another spot, then backwards, and so forth. What must be noted here is that 50% of the players have not even touched the soccer ball yet. How silly is that? Instead of engaging the entire team, only half of them are participating.

After a few minutes, the two groups of players switch activities. It has been noticed that soccer exercises are taken very mildly when it comes to the tendency of soccer coaches. It lacks any novelty. For example, isn't it a good idea to use soccer balls if you are so adamant on laps? A majority of coaches have a tendency to overlook this part.

And then when the goalkeeper runs, he must carry the ball, throw it in the air and toss it back up. It need not be emphasized more that in their early years in soccer, they must spend maximum amount of time with the ball and even sleep with it. It aids in making the kids comfortable with the ball.

Then as time passes by, soccer conditioning and fitness training should take the center stage."

There is a tip to execute soccer workouts. Some of these exercises can afford to be light cardio. You can do this using a predetermined cycle; put your leading foot forward and then use both the feet. Stretch out your legs to the maximum, bend over with face pointing downwards. Balance the ball at the back of your neck. If you can do it easily, clap your hands.

Then you can move in a turtle walk with the ball lying between the thighs. Rest flat on your back, put a ball below your back and move your feet so that you are rotating around in a circle.

Another great exercise is stretching stomach muscles and back. Throw the ball up so that it strikes with your chest. Once you are comfortable with it, catch hold of the ball using either your hands or feet and then let the ball hit your chest two times.

Help yourself with these wonderful tips to get great results in soccer conditioning. Our youth soccer coaching community is full of such informative articles on youth soccer.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in Soccer conditioning and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. To explode your players' skills and make training fun, download your free Soccer Fitness ebook at: Soccer Drills.


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