Let it be known that a Soccer conditioning program is the very basis on which the success of any team depends. 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.
Nonetheless, you or your team may have to deal with the lack of time to practice prior to a competition. But you don’t need to compromise on the conditioning exercises because of this. You don’t wish to see your players getting hurt prior to the match or at some point in the game.
A well planned soccer fitness training course has the capacity to fully train the players even in less that 3 days time. All that it takes is seriousness, good preparation, and its implementation. Here are some tips that work fine with short but efficient training programs.
Warming up: Tell the players to kick off with any of these; a five minute jog, heel flicks, high knees, or jumping. Take enough rest for a minute or so in between. This should be followed by some stretching of muscles for about 5 minutes to tone them up. Make sure that these soccer workouts consist of all the main muscle groups.
Running: Some coaches tend to make their players do continuous 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. Also, they do not get fatigued since a walk after a sprint balances things out.
Just let the individual players decide on what they wish to do and when. If they wish to do sprints more than light jogging, there is no harm in it. As the stamina of the kids increases, you can increase the duration of the soccer conditioning program slightly.
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. Keep in mind that the stretching positions should be longer than the warm-up sessions. Generally, 20 to 30 seconds is a good duration.
Ask the kids to rest completely a day before the match. This will make the muscles build up strength as well as negate the possibility of injuries. Also, this is a great time to talk to the players and giving them a high.
Crack jokes so that they get relieved of tension.
Have faith in me! As soon as you apply these techniques to your training sessions, your players will start benefitting from it. In order to know more about soccer conditioning, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that will give you access to great soccer resources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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 training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Practice
