Fitter teams win more games – it’s as simple as that. Of course, we know that most clubs will not have a fitness trainer or a well-equipped gym. But there is a lot you can do yourself. The drills in this section look at how you can help your players to get fit, stay fit, avoid injury and recover more quickly. How many times have you seen a close game decided in the last 10 minutes because one team is fit and the other is running out of energy?
Fitness is fundamental to successful soccer coaching. It’s something you need to think about on a regular basis and I don’t mean simply getting your players to run around the pitch each week. First, that’s going to be boring and, second, players won’t push themselves. Instead, this soccer drill gives your players targets to create
Press-up drills are an excellent way of developing your players' upper body strength in the arms, chest and shoulders as well as building core strength. Technique is an essential part of this soccer coaching drill. Players should only do as many press-ups as they can with good technique. As soon as the technique goes, change
Cramp is a common injury that affects hard working muscles such as the calves in soccer players. The following soccer coaching tips tell you what to do when this happens and how to avoid it. Cramp occurs when a muscle goes into spasm and refuses to relax. The pain in the affected muscle can range
Sit-ups are important exercises to include in fitness drills, as they help strengthen the abdominals, the group of muscles around your middle. The basic sit-up has the player rise up straight from the ground and then return, but not so the shoulders touch the ground.
This is a very good fitness drill to use with your young soccer players, and it will have them all laughing as they try to balance and fall over until they get the hang of it and can do it properly. Why is balancing useful? Balance is important in soccer, especially when players are using
Playing games can help you coach your players to understand how tactics and team work can make you into a better team. This soccer drill version of the traditional tug-of-war game uses four teams and means simple strength will not be enough to win.
Being outpaced to the ball is a frustrating situation, so make sure you incorporate speed training drills into your soccer coaching sessions. Explosive bursts of speed Tackling fast defenders is part of every soccer game, but your players can prepare for this with a simple soccer training drill that can be practised two or three
Get your players practising soccer sprint drills using Ajax techniques where players accelerate from a low-level jog to a high-speed sprint.What skills you are looking for in these drills Players performing movements correctly prior to sprinting. Body position is important. Players should make sure they lean from the ankles – bending at the waist is
Whether it's a hot day or a cold one, water is vital for the health and fitness of your players during soccer training drills and matches, so make sure it is available all the time.Keeping your body properly hydrated is vital when playing sport. This is especially true for youngsters, whose bodies are still growing
