Soccer Conditioning : 3 Sure-fire Tips To Basic Conditioning
It’s a known fact that a soccer conditioning program provides a strong base for a team’s success. It is because of soccer exercises which build strength, agility, and endurance that players manage to stay in shape and thus dream to become match winners for their team.
Still, your team or you may face situations where there is paucity of time to train ahead of a tournament. This does not suggest you to cut back on your conditioning exercises. You don’t wish to see your players getting hurt prior to the match or at some point in the game.
If you design a good soccer fitness training program, your players can get fully conditioned even in as less as 3 days time. 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: Instruct the players to start with any of the following; a five minute jog, high knees, jumping, or heel flicks. Take enough rest for a minute or so in between. Then do some stretching for another 5 minutes that will tone up the muscles. Make it a point that these soccer workouts comprise of all the key muscle groups.
Running: Some coaches have a tendency to make the players do constant running. Although there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s advisable that players strictly do some soccer specific running only. This leads to the fact that they do running, jogging, walking, and sprinting in no set order for half an hour.
This form of running at different speeds helps the players get strong and have more control over their bodies. 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: Impress upon the kids to do stretching after the match as well as a training session. Focus on the whole body but lay emphasis on hamstrings, groins, quads, calves and lower back. Ensure that the stretching postures are longer than the warm-up sessions. In general, 20 to 30 seconds is recommended.
Instruct the players to take adequate rest a day before the match. This will help the muscles restore their form and also there will be no possibility of an injury. It is also a good time to have a discussion with them and boost their confidence.
Discuss some funny things or joke so that they feel lighter.
Have faith in me! Once these techniques are applied, your players shall start playing dramatically well. 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.
Tags: conditioning for soccer, Soccer conditioning, soccer exercises, soccer fitness, soccer fitness training, soccer workouts
