effective soccer coaching drills

Effective Soccer Conditioning Drills

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright 2008 by Andre Botelho - www.SoccerDrillsTips.com

All rights reserved. This document may not be copied in part or full without express written permission from the publisher.

All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

____________________________________________________________________________________ SoccerDrillsTips.com www.SoccerDrillsTips.com


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Table of Contents

About Making Soccer Conditioning Fun ___________________ 3

Up And Down Soccer Conditioning Drill __________________

6

Soccer Conditioning Drills And Games ___________________

7

Fun Soccer Conditioning To Improve Passing Skills _________

8

Warm Up Conditioning Drills ___________________________

9

Fitness Soccer Drills _________________________________

14

Weight Training Soccer _______________________________

15

Plyometric Exercises for Soccer ________________________

19

Soccer Strength Exercises ____________________________

22

Soccer Conditioning Training To Keep Fit ________________

23

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About Making Soccer Conditioning FunTo make children enjoy their practice by making conditioning drills fun is the best way. Children tend to learn better when they perceive what they do as fun.

When you introduce certain soccer drills to them, it must guarantee them a good time so that they look forward to soccer practice each time.

The main reason they come to play soccer is because they see it as fun.

There are several conditioning drills that teach kids the value of teamwork and discipline. But how to ensure it is fun? Here are some tips:

The very first thing for a coach to do while training kids is to join them on the field. Group your team into two sets of players.

Teach each team a specific set of skills so that they can use it while practicing. In the two teams, let one be offensive and the other defensive.

Now watch the two teams playing and using the skills you have instructed them to.

Since they are involved in the game, it will not appear like a serious soccer conditioning drill to them.



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Also they will learn in an actual live game, using their skills at the appropriate time and understand why it works.

This kind of learning situation will make them retain what they learn in their memory much more easily than if you were to just teach them the skill in isolation.

Doing is learning. Right now, the kids are more intent on having a great time than worrying about winning and losing. That comes much later when they get more serious.

Therefore, the focus now is simply on learning basic moves and ball handling techniques.

All kids love to play with a ball. By giving them a situation where they face each other as two different teams they will show their creativity in handling the game.

Dont forget to tell your kids that they are doing a great job of learning the skills as you watch them play.

Also remember to encourage both teams and to highlight what they did very well.

When your players learn certain skills, they become ready to progress to the next level and it is up to you to be alert to these needs and help them get the necessary training.

Fun soccer conditioning drills are the most effective way to have those kids coming back with enthusiasm.



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On the other hand, if youre planning to develop some specific soccer conditioning drills, in an effort to help your players enhance their strength, endurance and speed, you need to rethink about the same.

Soccer conditioning is not something you should teach your players separately.

This is something that the players have to learn about, while they are practicing the various drills and playing the practice games.

Some coaches consider it mandatory to include a soccer conditioning drill at the end of each and every coaching session.

This is certainly not the right way to have your players, help improve their endurance and strength. If you do so, you will only end up having your players tired and fatigued for no use.

Therefore, the right way to teach your players about the soccer conditioning tips is the middle of the coaching session, when you are having them practice the various soccer skills through various methods.

However, it is recommended that you run specific coaching sessions for soccer conditioning.

The only point that you have to keep in mind is that you do not have to make it mandatory to include specific soccer conditioning drills in every coaching session.



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Up And Down Soccer Conditioning DrillThe soccer conditioning drills must be included in your coaching session in a very efficient way.

It is important because it will help your players achieve the desired strength, endurance and speed.

The main purpose of including the up and down conditioning drill into your training session is to improve the speed of the players.

The players will also learn how to control their pace in different situation. To start with, this soccer conditioning drill will have your players run short sprints back and forth.

You have to prepare a line of cones and have your players start the activity at the end of this line. Now, they have to start sprinting around the cone.

They have to do various sprinting activities until they reach the starting point. What is more, make sure that the players go through all the cones.

You can also use your creativity and put some variation into the various variables associated with this drill.

As a coach, you have to keep an eye on the individual players to notice that the body of the players are straight and they are leaning forward throughout the sprinting activities during this soccer conditioning drill.



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Soccer Conditioning Drills And GamesFollowing are some of the tried and tested soccer conditioning drills and games that are not only fun and engaging but there is also a lot of things to learn for your players.

Dribble warm up is one of the best soccer conditioning drills. In this drill, you have to have your players dribble in a box.

When you say Go, the players will have to run fast to the farthest line and then come back to the box.

When you shout a particular number, say 6, the players have to make a group of six in the box.

The last player to join this group will do ten press-ups.

You can also try lane races as soccer conditioning drills. In these drills, you have to use cones and form four to five lanes with at least thirty-five yards in length.

Now you can use variations in the various activities of the players. This may include having the players dribble the ball straight on the lane.

Then you can also use dribbling of the players weaving the cones.

Forming a sprinting sequence can also be a good drill in this regard.



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Fun Soccer Conditioning To Improve Passing SkillsYou can use this fun soccer conditioning drill to improve the passing skills of the players.

This drill is ultimate fun, for both the players and the coach. What is more, it promises good results.

As per this drill, you can start with dividing your players into small teams of four or five.

You have to make sure that you have enough space to allow the players to pass the ball between five to ten yards.

Please note that the objective of this passing drill is to have your players pass the ball to each other, in a one touch passing sequence.

In this fun soccer conditioning drill, you will also have to make sure that each player sprints to a few yards, after passing the ball to other. Initially, you may allow the players to use first touch, to get control of the ball and then second touch to pass the ball.

However, as the training session goes on and as the players understand the mechanism, you should have your players get control of the ball and pass the same, in a single touch only.

You can make it a game of 45 minutes, where the team with the larger number of one-touch passes wins.



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Warm Up Conditioning DrillsRegarding soccer conditioning, there is a saying in famous in the world of coaching soccer that players should Warm-up to play, they should not play to warm-up.

The coach needs to train the team to build the movements gradually to game speed.

This is the perfect way to raise the core temperature and engage the nervous system.

The following is some of the factors that the coach must keep in mind while they are running the warm up session.

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Warm Up Tips #1

In this group, the coaches can try the following during the warm up session.

Have the players Jog for 5 minutes Have them their Leg swings-forward, cross body, 10 each Give emphasis on active stretching over 20 yards

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Warm Up Tips #2 When it comes to active stretching over 20 yards, it must be

done along with the following warm-up methods.

Have the players skip forward, backwards; Side skip with arm swing is also effective;



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You can also train the players for cross step; Have the players skip across foot-big hip movement with quick steps;

Train them regarding the High knee carioca. They must do these warm ups as if going to sprint;

Backward run is also a tried and tested method. Make sure that in this activity, the heels must kick up to butt. That is the perfect way for backward running warm ups.

- Warm Up Tips #3 These warp-up methods should also be used along with the above techniques in order to gain results that are more favorable.

You can start this round of warm up session by having the players skip with loops or swings;

Now, have them Cross over skip; Quick hip swings is another great method to use at this stage; You can also have the players doing long shuffles with turn in the middle;

Train them about forward and backward leg swings. This is a great way of warm up for the soccer players;

High leg forward and backwards are equally effective.

When it comes to soccer conditioning, the above warm up methods can work wonders.

Before they start their practice game, here is a great conditioning drill you can use:



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Divide the players into two teams. Position them so that one team is on one end of the field, while the other is at the opposite end. Have your teams begin their fitness drill

simultaneously. Let them start jogging at the end lines where you positioned them.

After finishing one line, they move to the line on the side and jog there. Which means, now both groups have jogged their end line and one sideline.

Once this is over, let them start over by jogging the sideline, then finish with the end line.

The third drill here is to do a sideline and an end line and continue with the other sideline. After a brief rest, the players can all jog four sides of the field.

Depending on the fitness levels of your players you can have them continue the drill sequence by now starting with one sideline, one end line and a side line, and then one end line and a sideline and then finishing it all off with one end line jog. Round it off with a cool off, with some stretching exercises or a walk. Decide on the number of line sequences you want your players to do based on their age.

If your players are very young, use a smaller area to conduct the drill, like say 30-40 meter square.

Among other drills this one is great for keeping team spirit and maintaining fitness.____________________________________________________________________________________ 11 SoccerDrillsTips.com www.SoccerDrillsTips.com


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- Warm Up Tips #4

One of the best ways to get young children started off with soccer practice is with fun soccer conditioning drills. The main reason is, they come with a lot of pent up energy and cant wait to get going with the ball, so make sure you have planned a session that they are sure to enjoy.

You can get them oriented to practice with some active warm up exercises involving, running.

Be prepared to agree to a break for drinking water. And while they are doing this, you can tell them what you want them to do next.

Give them some individual or group activities. One way is to get the player that arrives earliest started on juggling, so that the one who arrives next can join them, and so on.

If the group gets large, you can form additional groups.

Here are other fun conditioning drills:

Soccer golf aim the ball at a distant object.

Soccer bowling where your players hit cones from afar, as they practice passing skills

Soccer volleyball where the teams play in a restricted area, without letting it touch the ground



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Teach them to dribble with the ball and progress to specific body parts. This will teach them to react quickly to moves. This can be done in small areas of ten meters square with as many players as you want. Each player must hold a ball.

Allow them to dribble the ball around in this limited area. You can make it more fun by announcing the part of the body that must touch the ball when you call out for example, foot, cheek, elbow, backside, etc.

Another interesting warm up for the young players is as follows: arrange markers in a circle with as many markers as players. For a large group, you can have two or three circles.

This fun drill is easy. Once they are in position, you can begin your instructions.

Get them to go two markers right and then four markers left and one marker right. Then two markers right, center and one marker left.

When you say center, they are expected to sprint to the center and back. You can use a ball for this drill.

You can also get them to sit after carrying out each instruction, so that they get up fast to perform the next instruction.

With these fun soccer conditioning drills, keep your young players on their toes.



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Fitness Soccer DrillsDrill

Set up three rows of four pylons.

Have the first three pylons spaced 10 yards apart and place the fourth pylon 20 yards from the third.

Then have the players divide into equal teams of 3 or 4 players.

Give each team a ball and have the first player on each team:

Dribble the ball to the first pylon, cut the ball with the inside of the foot, and dribble back to the touch line;

Dribble the ball to the second pylon, cut the ball with the outside of the foot, and dribble back to the touch line;

Dribble the ball to the third pylon, cut the ball with the inside of the foot behind the other leg, and dribble back to the touch line;

Sprint dribble around the fourth pylon and back to the touch line.

Have each payer do this and see which team finishes first. Variations can include using right or left foot only, having the players take a shot when cutting behind the other leg, or do the drill without a ball (which makes it ideal for off-season training).



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Weight Training Workout

It is crucial that players do their strength training appropriately.

In other words, they cannot just bulk up and do the same 3 sets of 8-12 reps all year round they may lose out on their agility, flexibility, and aerobic stamina.

Soccer athletes need to have appropriate levels on aerobic and anaerobic exercise so they will have great upper body strength, strong legs, and the ability to accelerate quickly and run with speed.

Soccer players need to have a lot of lower body strength. After all, they spend most of their time on the field running, kicking, jumping, tackling, twisting, and turning.

However, a soccer players upper body strength is also important because they need to be able to shield the ball, hold off opponents, and perform throw-ins.

The soccer player needs to focus on a training program that is tailored for the needs of a soccer player. This means increasing maximal strength, power and endurance, power being the product of strength and speed.

So, soccer strength training is broken down into phases of training that are 4-12 weeks in duration. An ideal soccer-training program can be broken down into 4 phases.



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Off-Season Building Functional Strength

Through the repetitive actions used by soccer players during practice and games, some muscles get used more than others and some joints are put under more stress than others. The bulk of the off-season is spent on the following:

Building core strength: the abdomen, lower back, and trunk; Balancing the strength between the right and left sides of the body;

Preparing joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons for more intense work in the other phases;

To strengthen underused muscles; To balance the use of flexor and extensor muscles such as hamstrings vs. quads.

This phase is the underpinning of the rest of a soccer players strength training and their ability to play the game at their best.

Also, both long- and short-term injuries are more likely when players ignore this aspect of their physical training, as is often the case.

Off-Season and Early Pre-Season Build Maximum Strength

This is the phase in which players are to build their maximum strength which they can later convert into power.

This is also the phase in which players often get stuck, and they only train this way all year round.



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The idea behind this phase is to lift more than you do in any of the other phases. For younger players this wont be their maximum, but it should be more.

Players should complete this phase of training before their season begins so they will be ready to move into power and endurance training.

Late Pre-Season Muscular Power ad Strength Endurance

Now that you are prepared and your muscles are bulked up it is time to use the strength you have built up to attain the power you need for your game.

In soccer you need approximately equal amounts of explosive force and muscle endurance. Circuit training or plyometric training should be the focus now.

Plyometric training is a unique form of training that does not use weights. It makes use of the bodys own resistance. It is based on the idea that for the muscles to have explosive power, they first need to stretch.

The stretch that precedes the contraction is necessary for the rapid and explosive movement of the muscle or muscle group. This rapid and explosive movement is necessary for heading, jumping, kicking, changes in direction, and sprinting.



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Guidelines for Plyometric Training

Warm up should include 5-10 minutes of light aerobic exercise and then 5-10 minutes spent stretching all the major muscle groups. Plyometrics should be performed before the endurance work of a training session or heavy ball work.

This way muscles will be fresh.

Even if you feel that you could do more training, dont. Stick to your training schedule. Plyometric training wont leave you feeling out of breath or tired so do not be tempted. You may pay for it he next day.

Specific actions should be performed at the highest intensity and at the best speed and at the same time, they should be top quality.

Dont tire yourself out. Take two minute rests between sets. Plyometrics in soccer training should not include more than 120 ground contacts per muscle group per session.

You only need two sessions per week and should rest from 2448 hours between sessions. During the in-season one session per week is sufficient.

Dont push it if your muscles hurt during a session. Just stop.

It is incredibly important to build your muscle strength before beginning plyometrics, otherwise you could damage your muscles.

The whole concept behind plyometrics is that it converts strength into power, so you need to have that foundation of strength there and available.____________________________________________________________________________________ 18 SoccerDrillsTips.com www.SoccerDrillsTips.com


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Plyometric Exercises for SoccerYou would not use all of these exercises in one session. You would choose maybe 4 of them and then do 3 sets of 8 reps for each one. Do not do more than this.

Jump Running

This is probably one of the easiest and most basic plyometric exercises. You run in slow motion. The goal is to attain as much height and distance with each stride as you can. One repetition is the equivalent of a right and left foot strike.

Bounding

Set up a course of cones or other markers and match the number to the number of reps you are doing. These cones should be set up in a straight line approximately 3 feet apart.

Begin in a semi-squat position behind the first cone.

Now jump, as high and far as possible over each cone. You may need to adjust the distance between the cones, depending on the distance of your jump.

The idea is to reduce the amount of ground contact you have between jumps.



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Ricochets

Draw a small box on the ground or the floor with chalk of paint. The box should be 2 feet by 2 feet.

Stand on one corner of the box with your feet together. Keep your feet together and randomly jump from corner to corner.

You should focus on the speed of the jumps and the rate of the leg movement, not on the height of the jump.

Each time you touch the ground you have finished one repetition.

Lateral Jumps

This is an exercise that you should build up to over a few weeks as it is quite advanced. You dont want to do more than 3 to 6 sets for any advanced exercise.

Stand beside a marker such as a bench, box, or cone that is approximately 30 cm in height.

Jump sideways with your feet hip-distance apart. You want to get as much height as possible with your jump.

As soon as you touch down after your jump, you should immediately jump back with as little ground contact as possible. This is one repetition.



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Depth Jumps

This is another advanced plyometric exercise.

Find something sturdy to stand on, such as a box, bench, or chair. It should be approximately 30-40 cm high.

You want to step off the object, not jump, and as soon as you touch down you will explode vertically and jump as high as possible.

The idea is to minimize the amount of time you are in contact with the ground, so do not go down into a deep squat before jumping.

In-Season Maintenance

During the regular season you will ultimately lose some of the maximal strength you have built up in the off-season. The idea during the regular season is to maintain what you have accomplished in the pre-season without over-doing it.

You will find that your best workouts will be the competitive games you play and the rest of your training program should center around these games.

You can always split your training season into smaller cycles of 6-8 weeks and begin with weight training, build up, and then taper off again. This will help you avoid injury and keep your body and mind fresh and ready to go.



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Soccer Strength ExercisesCardio and Strength

This is a great drill for cardiovascular exercise and strength training. Have the players line up along the touch line and set up three rows of four pylons.

Have the first three pylons spaced 10 yards apart and place the fourth pylon 20 yards from the third. Have the players run this repetition:

Sprint to the first cone and do 10 military style push-ups, then jump up and sprint back to the touch line.

Sprint to the second pylon and do 10 sit-ups, then jump up and sprint back to the touch line.

Sprint to the third pylon and do 10 jumps while pulling the knees as close to the chest as possible (land softly and push of aggressively), then sprint back to the touch line.

Sprint to the fourth pylon and back to the touch line.

The entire repetition is done with no rest. Have the players do repetitions with a one minute rest between each one.

It is important that the players have warmed up sufficiently before doing this drill because of the hard sprinting and strength training involved. With out proper warm-up and stretching injury could result.



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Soccer Conditioning Training To Keep FitAny sport requires stamina and fitness, and soccer conditioning ensures that the players perform their skills on the field with confidence and strength.

Depending on the age, physical condition and skills of the player, there are different types of conditioning for soccer aerobic and anaerobic.

- Aerobic Conditioning

This type of conditioning is designed to enable the body to handle oxygen. It is used to build long periods of endurance and quick recovery after strenuous bouts of the game. The following drill is an example of aerobic conditioning:

You get your players warmed up through medium paced jogging for about 8-10 minutes. Then they sprint fast for about three minutes followed by a slow one-minute jog. This sequence is repeated 5-8 times. After this comes the cooling down gradually.

- Anaerobic Conditioning

Anaerobic conditioning aims at improving players recovery time from short stints of rigorous activity. On the soccer field, a player runs fast for 25 yards for one move and then needs to change directions for another move.



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When your players continuously work hard, there is a build up of lactic acid.

This interferes in their performance if they do not recover by slowing down a bit. What happens with anaerobic conditioning is, the build up of lactic acid is slowed down and the players learn to tolerate it.

When it builds up however, it disperses fast so that the players revert to optimum performance in record time.

Different types of conditioning drills are used for different levels of players.

Junior players

Only aerobic conditioning is used for these young players. For players aged 6-10, usually no drills are conducted for endurance. Rather they are encouraged to play games from which they derive their conditioning.

Youth players

For these players, the conditioning drills are a little tougher as they have the capacity to handle it. Tough drills interspersed with short rest periods are recommended.

Older players

When you coach the age group 16-21, you must ensure that the conditioning exercises meet their specific needs to help____________________________________________________________________________________ 24 SoccerDrillsTips.com www.SoccerDrillsTips.com


_______________________________________________________________ them show optimum performance on the field. These players are expected to do anaerobic conditioning exercises so that they can cope with the lactic acid collection.

According to player requirement, anaerobic conditioning must be alternated with aerobic along with enough breaks for resting and reverting to full performance.

Soccer conditioning is all about building player stamina and fitness so that they can prove their skills on the field successfully.

Following are some of the best fun soccer conditioning drills that will help your players to stay fit and active.

Please note that while using these drills, your focus must be on short charges of explosive speed and not on long distances. Soccer is a game where you need to do short sprints most of the times.

You can have your players jog around the field in pairs. This is a special sprinting process where you have to position your players in pairs some pairs in front while some other pairs in behind. Now, the players at the back will sprint to the front in a way to come out of the line of the front players. Now, the front players are back, so they will sprint to the front in a way to come out of the line of the new front players.

Having your players do the 10 yd; 20 yd, 30 yd, 40 yd, and 50 yd sprints is also considered as a good fun soccer conditioning drill. In such drills, after making the sprints, the players must walk back breathing deeply. You can also develop progressive long run sprinting in these drills.



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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright 2008 by Andre Botelho - www.SoccerDrillsTips.com

All rights reserved. This document may not be copied in part or full without express written permission from the publisher.

All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.


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