Create separation on the soccer field

When we look at ways for a soccer player to create separation on the soccer field, we often talk about quickness and speed. While a soccer player's quickness and speed is important to work on and improve upon, there is more to it than that.

While I acknowledge that speed is critical for a player to have to create separation on the soccer field, what you do with that speed is more important. I see many talented youth players that do possess speed make two costly mistakes that once corrected will make them even more dangerous on the soccer field.

The first mistake is they play at one speed. What I mean by this is if they are a fast player, they play only at that pace, if they are a slow player, they only play at that pace. Changing up your speed and tempo on the field will do wonders for your game. It keeps a defender guessing!

Lets say that a player possesses great speed with the ball. Once a defender knows that or realizes that, they will quickly understand what they have to do to keep this speedy player in front of them. However, if this quick player can incorporate several different levels and establish that in a game, he will leave his defender guessing most of the time. The defender might decide to crowd the player allowing the speedy player to blow by or if he decides to give him space, this player now has more time to distribute the ball and become very dangerous. For those of you who are also baseball fans, many baseball experts will tell you that a pitcher that has a good fastball and good change up is going to have success. It keeps players off balance. That is what I am talking about here. Once you have a defender off balance, as an attacking soccer player you have them right where you want them!

The second mistake is playing too linear. Many youth players like to attack in a north/south manner. Once a player develops change of direction into their attack, they will create a ton more space for themselves. Adding different speeds along with changing direction on the field will make a player very dangerous to defend. This crafty player will be able to enjoy more time with the soccer ball and will create more space and separation on the soccer field as a result. So instead of always attacking straight ahead in that north/south manner, add a little east/west into your game and watch how you create so much more space on the soccer field.

Go out today and either start working on your "change up or fastball" and see what happens when you play your next game!

I hope you have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Soccer players and their hip flexors

Soccer players and their hip flexors often times seem to be quarreling with each other. Because of the nature of the sport, soccer players will usually stress their hip flexors and can even develop some injuries should they not address it.

As you know, in a soccer game, players are often reaching to collect an errant pass, or they are stabbing at the ball as an opponent is trying to beat them 1 v 1. Because it is an explosive sport, and for those reasons previously listed, soccer players and their hip flexors are often at odds with one another.

Obviously getting into a daily stretching program will help in correcting this. Here are some of my favorite movement stretches to isolate and stretch the hip flexor:

• Walking Lunge with a Twist: Conduct a normal walking lunge where the back leg is approximately an inch off the ground and then add a twist to the side you are lunging to. In other words, if you lunge with your right leg forward, keep your arms out and front of you and then turn your head, shoulders (arms and hands) and upper torso toward the right and look over your right shoulder. Repeat this on the left side as well. I like to have my players do approximately 15 yards of this dynamic stretch, 1 to 2 times before a practice or a game.
• Scorpions: Laying on your stomach, with your arms out to your side at a 90 degree angle to your body, bring your right foot up (so it looks like a scorpion tail) and try and then touch your right heel to your left hand. Bring the right leg back to its original position and then alternate legs. I like to have my players do 2 sets of 10.
• Back heel lift: Have your players on their hands and knees. Extend the right leg back so that just the left leg (knee) is on the ground. Drive the right heel straight up into the air and bring it back down and repeat this explosive movement 10 times with the right leg and then 10 times with the left leg. Try and maintain straight arms and a flat back.
• Hip circles: Also from your hands and knees, keep the right leg bent and raise it up 90 degrees (Like your dog might look if he went by a fire hydrant:)) While in this position, rotate your leg and hip in a forward circle 10 times. Repeat on the left side 10 times as well.

These dynamic stretches help a soccer player tremendously with alleviating pain associated with tight hip flexors. Keeping them loose, will not only make them better soccer players, but will also reduce injuries.

I would highly recommend doing these stretches as a part of your warm up and cool down as it will help your players minimize pain and lower the risk of potential injury.

If you want to learn more about soccer and speed tips for soccer players, go on over to my website, www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to get tips like this sent to your inbox free.

Have a great day!

Gary

When to eat before a soccer game.

Some athletes try and not eat before a soccer game because they feel eating may cause stomach cramps or nausea. Unless you eat just before your game or practice this is unlikely to happen. Your ability to perform on the field could suffer though if you don’t eat before your game or practice.

For those athletes who choose not to eat prior to a game, they may experience as much as an 80% decrease in their liver glycogen storage (main source of glucose) depending on whether they compete in the morning or later in the day.

We have learned that eating properly is paramount to an athlete’s success, but when to do it is also key. Eating too much just before your game is bad, but also not eating before your game could be just as bad. Skipping meals or not eating before an early morning game or workout lowers the stored energy in your body and can negatively affect your performance. So when should you eat?

If you eat your meal one to three hours before your game, your stomach will almost be empty during the event. In general it takes your body 1-4 hours for your stomach to digest your food and empty it into your intestines.

Below is a guideline for when to consume food prior to a game or workout:

Time Before A Game/ Meal Type/ Calories
3 - 5 hours/ Large Meal/ 300 - 500
2 - 3 hours/ Light Meal/ 200 - 300
1 - 2 hours/ Liquid Meal/ 100 - 200
½ - 1 hour/ Snack/ 50 - 100

In future posts, I'll be talking about what are good meals, snacks, fruits and beverages to consume prior to a game or practice.

If you go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register, I will be offering the full Championship Food Booklet in a future download. Register today so that you won't miss it when this fabulous, excellent nutrition rich download is available for you.

Have a great day!

Gary

Running Backwards on the Soccer Field

In previous posts, I have talked about the importance of acceleration on the field. Winning 50-50 soccer balls, getting shot off or not or defending a shot or not are three quick off the top of my head reasons why acceleration is important for soccer players.

If you look at the game of soccer though, there are times when we need to run backwards on the soccer field. It could be because as a defender, you have an attacker flying at you at full speed with the ball. Or it could be the other teams goalie just made a save and you want to watch where he is going to distribute the ball so you are running backwards on the soccer field to keep your eyes on him. There are many times when you might want to run backwards vs turning around and running straight ahead.

In order to run effectively backwards however, you need to do several things to keep you ready. Here are the 5 things you need to do:

• Nose over toes: Run backwards with a slight forward lean. In other words, don't lean back as you could fall backwards possibly injuring your self, and most definitely keeping you out of the play.
• Land on the front part of your foot: Just like when you accelerate, you want to land on the front part of your foot, you want to do this also when you run backwards.
• Move your arms faster allowing you to take smaller, quicker steps backwards.
• Keep your head up so that you can see the play in front of you.
• Limit the distance you run backwards to less than 15 yards.

By maintaining good balance (nose over toes), you will be able to explode in any direction quickly and efficiently. When practicing running backwards, also work on your foot transitions, meaning stopping yourself efficiently and then running forward as an example.

Working on this art of running backwards on the soccer field will pay huge dividends to all soccer players.

Check out my website at www.soccerandspeedcoach.com to get more information on helping soccer players and soccer coaches get better on the field.

Have a great day!

Gary

Add 10 yards to your goal kicks

Being able to drive a ball farther on a goal kick is a matter of incorporating two things! The first has everything to do with technique. Refining proper ball striking skills for a player is key, but that is not what I want to focus on today.

The 2nd component to drive the ball farther has to do with strength....actually lower body strength. If you can get your players stronger, this will not only help them in other facets of their game, it will help them drive the ball farther too and maybe even add 10 yards to their goal kick. When I talk about strength, whether it is lower or upper body strength, I am referring to developing functional strength. You want to develop strength that allows your players to be stronger for the sport of soccer.

Below are some great lower body functional strength exercises that do not require any equipment and is appropriate for players 10 years and up.

• Prisoner squats: have the player place their feet about shoulder width apart. Place their hands behind their head and squat down (like you are sitting down into a chair). Try and keep your heels on the ground and keep your head and chest up. Also, make certain when you bend your knees, that your knees don't go past your toes. 10-15 in succession equals one set. Build up to 2 sets.
• Lunge walks: have your player take a long stride (like they are walking) and ask the player to drop their hips (back knee is an inch from touching the ground). Keep repeating this walking movement for 10-15 yards. Build up to 2 sets. Very important as well is to again make sure the front knee when it bends does not go past the toes of this front leg.
• Lateral Lunge walks: Same concept as the lunge walk except now your steps are sideways, not forward. Again make certain that the player performs the movement with good form. Knee not flying past toes, hips are down.
• Pogo Jumps for height: Imagine you are on a pogo stick. Start with legs open to shoulder width apart. Arms are placed in front of you at a 90 degree angle. Drive the elbows back (like you are reaching back for your back pockets with your hands) and then quickly drive them forward and up, propelling you upward. Land softly on the front part of both feet, bends the knees to absorb the jump and then repeat the process again very quickly. One set equals 10-15 pogo jumps for height. Work on building this up to 2 sets.
• Prisoner Squat Hold: Have the player squat down and hold the prisoner squat for 30 - 45 seconds all the while maintaining proper form. Work up to 45 seconds or so and do that 2-3 times.

I hope you enjoy these functional lower body strength exercise for your players to work on.

We'll be letting you know real soon about a strength DVD we have coming out. Remember to go over to my website www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to get soccer and speed tips delivered to your inbox every week.

Have a great day!

Gary

Communication on the soccer field

I had a chance to interview Head Coach Darren Ambrose of the University of Pennsylvania Women's Soccer team a month or two ago about many topics. One topic we got into was about how to develop communication on the soccer field at the youth level and up. Below is a little excerpt from it. Take a read...

Gary: If you look at communication on the field, what do you see…How are we doing in that area? What do coaches need to do in order to better themselves in that area?

Darren: I think we need to let kids play and organize themselves in 3V3, 4V4, 6V6 games and have less structure in practice. Because when that happens, the natural element of the game will come out and kids will start to or tend to do that a lot more as opposed to constantly telling them where to go and what to do. We take away the communication aspect for them because they have someone else that does it for them.

Gary: Perfect, yep.

Darren: We can allow them a little bit more opportunity to play in unstructured games. I think that presents the opportunity for them to communicate where as we constantly do exercises that are...the decision-making is taken away from them you know then they’re not being trained to communicate. They don’t need to. So I think if you put them in those situations more often it will present an opportunity for them to communicate a lot more.

Darren is right on with this! I have fallen into that trap myself where I over coach sessions and stagnate the communication development of my soccer team.

How do you assist your team in generating better communication on the soccer field? Leave me a reply!

Thanks and have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Stronger Core Means a Stronger Soccer Player

What gets ignored by many players and coaches is training the Core of a soccer player. Soccer players who work on getting their core stronger will become better as a soccer player!

There are three major components to a player's Core. The first component is the one most people associate training your Core with and that is your abdominals. The 2nd component is your back (upper and lower back) and the third component is your hips.

So let's discuss why your Core is so important. We use our Core constantly for every day living. When we walk, when we sit down, when we even are just standing we are using our Core to stabalize ourselves. Now if we are going to ask our body to go through strenous activity, then our Core is even more important.

Our Core is critical for tackling the ball better, for shooting with more pace and accuracy, for any driven balls, for heading the ball, for explosive running and for injury prevention, well I think you get my point....having a strong Core will improve the play of any soccer player.

Let's discuss three excellent exercises that can help you in all aspects of your Core training.

• Sprinters (for your ab's): Think of how you would run if you were lying on your back. In other words, as you sit up, bring your right knee toward your chest and keep your left leg straight. As this right knee comes up, move your right arm back (almost like you are reaching for your back pocket) and bring your left hand up to shoulder socket height. Once completed, lay yourself down and bring your right leg down and arms are at rest at your side, then repeat using the left leg. You will want to build up to 25 sets on each leg.
• 
  Supermen and superwomen (for your back): Now with this exercise, you are lying on your stomach with your arms extended out in front of you. Think how superman flies! Now, you want to raise your right arm and left leg up off the ground at the same time. Pause for a split second and then bring them both back down at the same time. Work up to 20 each and then switch left arm, right leg.
• 
  Spell the Alphabet (for your hips): Now you are standing up nice and tall. Lift your right leg off the ground and maintain your balance on your left leg. Now put your right foot out in front of you and pretend that your right foot is a piece of chalk and out in front of you is a chalkboard. Print the alphabet from A-Z in big capital letters. Once completed, put your right foot down and lift you left leg up and repeat the same process. While starting out, you may want to go A-M on one leg and N-Z on the other. Try and work so that you maintain your balance through the movements.

I hope you enjoy these three excellent Core exercises!

Check out my website, www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and receive training tips just like this on a weekly basis!

Have a great day!

Gary

Does Self Confidence Effect a Soccer Player?

Im my opinion, the answer to that is YES! As a matter of fact, it is my belief that lack of self confidence in a soccer player can result in as much as 25% decrease in their performance and production.

Here is my rationale: remember when you took a test at school or you had to make a presentation to others at work? When you were prepared, you probably thought..."go ahead teacher, ask me anything...bring it on! I can answer it!" You were confident, you were bold, you were aggressive, you had a winner's mentality! Conversely, go into that test or presentation ill prepared and watch yourself be hesitant, quiet, weak and unassuming!

I see it on the soccer field all the time. Those soccer players who are confident in theri game, will make the bold pass, they will make the aggressive tackle on the ball and they will instill confidence in their teammates too. That soccer player is a difference maker on the soccer field!

Get 11 of those types of players on the field and watch out! You will have win after win after win! That soccer team will be unbelievable to watch.

Now, if the player is not confident, you will see uninspiring play, hesitant players and in all likelihood a loss in the loss column. When you are confident, a soccer player's game elevates, conversely, when they lack confidence, their game drops! Their ability hasn't changed, confidence is the driving force here.

So how can me make a player or team more confident? I believe there are three ways soccer coaches can inject confidence into their players.

• Be a positive coach when you communicate or talk to your team. You can be tough or firm with the players, but always make certain that they feel good about themselves at the end.
• Prepare them ~ challenge them and work with them in practice to make them a better soccer player and athlete.
• Put them in a position of success ~ let them know what you are expecting out of them and let them know when they have done well and instruct them when they haven't. Also, let them know what their roles are on the team.

Doing these simple, yet crucial coaching steps and you will see how well your confident soccer players and teams will excel on the soccer field.

What other ways do you instill confidence in your players, leave me a reply!

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Does Soccer Practice Make you Soccer Perfect?

I see many soccer players going through the motions when they are supposed to be practicing. Maybe it is because practices for some teams are too long. (Some youth teams will practice 2.5 to 3 hours.) Maybe it is because the coach is in a rut with his practice methods and they seem to be the same old session being regurgitated to the players over and over again. Or maybe it is because the players are not into it...

Whatever the reason, just going through the motions while at soccer practice is not helping your soccer player get any better.

I am sure you have heard the old saying "Practice Makes Perfect" right? Well, just because a player shows up for practice, that doesn't mean a darn thing if they aren't working on preparing themselves to get better. When a player practices, please make certain that you are encouraging all of your players to work on their weaknesses in practice...just don't go through the motions!

Sometimes it is too easy to look the other way and allow your players to become uninspired at practice. If that is the case with you, please make a concerted effort to change that trait about yourself. Players can't just "show up" to play and neither can you! Before a practice, write down your session on paper, familiarize yourself with the coaching points you want to make and most importantly bring some energy to the practice. Doing that will make you a better coach and your players will appreciate it too!

Take it upon yourself as the coach to encourage your soccer players to practice the right way, learn and work on something that will make them a better soccer player at every practice and most importantly don't allow your players to just "go through the motions!" The players have to do more than just show up for practice! Getting them there is part of the battle, helping them learn and be better soccer soccer players is the key! Practice alone doesn't make you a perfect soccer player, but perfect practice will.

Leave me a reply about how you help your players stay motivated at a practice!

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Is Soccer a Life Long Sport?

I started playing soccer when I was around 7 years old. At that time, leagues weren't as plentiful at least where I grew up, as they are now. But between my friends, brothers and neighbors, we were able to play quite often.

As I got into Middle School, we started to play more and more organized soccer and then by High School, we were playing pretty much year round on a club team...even in snow storms.

In looking at soccer clubs now, there are so many kids playing and there are so many more opportunities for them to play, it is awesome.

But here is where I wonder what will happen, I loved playing so much that I would do it on my own, I would call friends and have them meet to play games. I enjoy it as much today as I did as a kid. I still play over 40 years later. To me it is a lifelong sport. I hope to play for another 20 years! I am not alone with this desire either. There are plenty of over 40 and over 50 year old soccer leagues and tournaments for people to play in, which is amazing.

How many sports can make that claim? Aside from golf and tennis, not too many others can. I believe that as a kid growing up and playing it for fun, it became part of me. My hope is that as coaches we are instilling the love of the game in our players we are coaching so that when they are older like me, they are still loving the game of soccer and are still playing it!

If that happens, watch out! The amount of space that will be needed for our youth to play on may be exceeded by the amount of space needed for soccer playing adults! Here's hoping that happens!

Have great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

1000 touches with a soccer ball in 8 minutes

We all know that getting touches on the ball are important for a soccer player to develop their ball skills. A player who can get quality touches over and over again with the ball will become more adept at playing the beautiful game of soccer.

I recently had a session with a friend of mine who is a college coach. He showed me one of his off season drills he has his players do every day. After i watched it it does so many positive things for a soccer player. His drill allows the player to get close to and sometimes over 1000 touches on the ball in about 8 minutes.

The player gets touches that allow him or her to dribble more effectively, pass more effectively, create a better first touch and increase their fitness/conditioning.

I'll be sharing more information on this very cool drill on my website. www.soccerandspeedcoach.com. Go on over there today and sign up to get a free audio report on my seven secrets to soccer success but also to register for more tips and drills including 1000 touches in 8 minutes.

Have a great day!

Gary

Speed and Soccer are a perfect combination

Okay I must admit, that as I write today's post, I am hungry! For whatever the reason, i could eat like 2 meals right now and still be looking for more! But food is not the main subject today!

The main subject is how speed effects the game of soccer. Specifically how speed can have a major role in winning and losing games. If you lack speed, in all likelihood, you will not be successful on the soccer field. Speed complements the game of soccer like jelly complements a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. (See I told you i was hungry!) Speed make the game of soccer even better, even more exciting to play and watch.

There are several ways to discuss how speed effects the game of soccer. One way has to do with the pure physical speed players possess and the other would be the "speed of play". You could even include ball speed (like in a pass or shot as an example). But today I want to talk about a soccer players speed.

The higher the level of soccer you watch or play in, you will see that the players are faster too. The correlation between faster players and higher level of play is accurate and true. Physical speed translates to game speed and that all translates to higher quality, more successful soccer teams.

Speed is the game changer, a fast soccer player is now a very dangerous soccer player. Speed can negate other deficiencies in a player too. Pure speed can win you games and if you don't have it as a team, it can lose you games too.

So make certain that if you are a player or a coach, that you are working on and training on generating more speed for yourself or your team. Include speed training in many of your soccer practices and you will like the results.

Should you be looking for more ways to get you or your team faster, check in to our website, www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and sign up to receive our soccer and speed tips. Speed and soccer go together as well as Peanut butter and jelly! :)

Have a great day!

Gary

Soccer tryouts

After being an evaluator today for a youth soccer team tryout, I was both pleased and concerned about what I saw out there. Specifically, when I observed the players creativity with the ball, it was to be honest, a bit lacking. The tryouts were for U14 boys.

Many of them couldn't combine with a teammate let alone take another player on in a 1v1. As a coach and as a youth soccer player evaluator, my belief is that we can sometimes have our players play too organized of a game. We create these grids and ask the players to play a certain way and they become very one dimensional.

My belief is this style tends to inhibit their freedom to create out on the soccer field. They seem to look only at their next pass versus 2-3 plays in front of them.

One concept that I have been using alot over the past several years is to allow them practice time to play what I call "crazy soccer". Here is what I mean by that...I ask the players to play in a manner that they are uncomfortable playing in. I ask them to try things out on the field that maybe that have thought about, but were either to afraid to try or didn't do for other reasons. After they play like that for some time (maybe 15-20 min) we stop and ask them what were they trying to accomplish with some of the things they were doing. If their answers were constructive and had purpose, we try and elaborate on them and offer other ideas and allow them to offer other ideas as well. It creates an opportunity for both the coach and the players to grow as a team and as individuals.

Play some "crazy soccer" this week and have some fun, but also have some great creative play!

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

The forgotten soccer skill of juggling

If you have read my blog before or have listened to me previously, you know that my opinion of youth soccer players is that they are not technical enough with the ball. I see too many coaches focusing on defensive tactics or working on an offside trap rather that teaching their players technical skills with the ball.

While tactics are important for a team to learn which will help them play better overall as a team, coaches cannot forgo coaching ball skills for their players.

One of the better drills to allow your soccer players to work on is juggling the ball. juggling used to be a staple exercise/training drill that coaches would ask their players to work on. But recently, i have seen a decline in players using this soccer drill.

Juggling a soccer ball can help a player be more comfortable with the ball, it will help them with their 1st touch, and it will help them be able to beat a defender 1v1.

If you are not working with your players on juggling, take my suggestion and start to do it. Have them work with both feet, combination of feet and thighs, make some combo games for them to work on and you will see your players get better soccer skills.

Check out my website at www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and sign up to receive more training ideas for your soccer team.

Have a great day!

Gary

Knee Injuries and Soccer Players

With the onset of better soccer skills being displayed by many players now and with the increase in how fast the game is being played, we are seeing more and more injuries. In particular for soccer players we are seeing those bad ACL knee injuries.

ACL injuries are on the rise with many sports, but in particular it is effecting many soccer players. Most notably ACL injuries are finding way too many female soccer players. While there are several reasons for this, I want to focus on one reason in particular.

Over 85% of the time it is not two girls colliding into each other that causes the ACL tear, in fact it is due primarily to female soccer players not landing properly or a quick change in direction that causes the injury. Teaching a soccer player how to properly land or change direction will ultimately reduce the likelihood of players suffering an ACL tear.

Many female athletes when they try and stop and then go into a new direction, stop with their bodies too upright and their knees are too straight as well. If they can be taught to drop their hips, bend their knees when they want to change direction, this athletic skill will help to minimize these injuries in soccer players.

Should you want more information on other ways to help lessen injuries of soccer players and also how to get more soccer skills...go to our website, www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and sign up to get free information sent out to you regularly.

Have a great day!

Gary

How does gaining strength help me as a soccer player?

As we get older (U13 and up), adding strength to a player will make them a faster, more powerful player. Here is why: There is a proven coorelation between strength and speed. Developing a players "posterior chain" of muscles has several positive effects. Before we get to that, let's describe the muscles we are referring to here. Basically these are the muscles you don't see should you be looking at yourself in the mirror. The Posterior chain of muscles are your back, your glutes, your hamstrings and your calf.

Getting them stronger, will absolutley make a player faster. These are the muscles that are used to propel an athlete forward. They allow the athlete to become very explosive and quick in their movements.

Now saying all of this, the athlete must be smart in how they train this set of muscles. An athlete should be training to gain functional strength. There are many ways to achieve functional strength. Functional strength combines resistance and movement. This powerful combination allows an athlete to become stronger by training in multiple planes.

Many athletes want to "bench press" as an example to get stronger. For movement athletes, benching is not as productive as say "tire flipping" in generating functional strength as a bench press only incorporates one level of plane, while flipping a tire builds several levels in!

Getting a soccer player stronger helps with creating more speed for the soccer player but also they become more powerful too!

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Winning 50-50 balls

As a player, you have heard this from your coach (we have to win more 50-50 balls!) many times, right? Well, let's discuss this for a moment. Why is that important to win 50-50 balls? Well obviously if you win more of those balls, you and your team will possess the ball more, which often results in winning soccer. But while winning a 50-50 ball in the midfield is important, how about winning a 50-50 ball when you are 8 yards away from the goal...or winning a 50-50 ball when the other team is 8 yards away from the goal. Now we are talking crucial, right?

Well, in order to win 50-50 balls, we must be able to accelerate quickly to the ball. The better you become at accelerating, the better your chances are of winning the ball. Proper acceleration can make 50-50 balls become 90-10 balls in your favor!

Here are the three things that you can do on the field to help you accelerate faster.

Forward lean: When you accelerate, if you can have a forward lean from your very first step, you will have an edge over others.

First 4-6 steps: The first 4-6 steps are all acceleration steps. When you accelerate, you must land on the front part of your foot and push off explosively.

Arm drive: There are two ways to get faster, stride frequency is one way. That means how quickly can you turn your legs over (like the roadrunner cartoon character). The faster you pump your arms, the faster your feet will go (increasing stride frequency).

So to recap, in order to win more 50-50 balls, work on accelerating to the ball by a quick forward lean, driving off the front part of your foot and move those arms quickly!

So, focus on these tips and let's go win some soccer games!

Have a great day!

Gary

Speed Kills on the Soccer Field

Coaches that have fast teams are usually quite successful. Because speed can cure many ills, coaches tend to gravitate towards wanting faster kids to play for them. If you have speed as a defender, it allows you to do so many things from making a run on the outside to support an offensive push or tracking down an attacking player who has the ball in front of them with space to go to goal.

If players can gain speed through learning proper running mechanics, coaches should be working like crazy to help their players to get faster by encouraging speed training in practices. While some coaches may not know how to teach speed to their players, there are other sources out there that can help you with that. interested coaches and players could check out this resource and learn more about soccer speed training. www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Since speed is a skill that can be taught and ultimately learned by a player, it makes alot of sense to get a soccer player into a speed and agility program.

When you think about a soccer game, it really consists of many 5-15 yard bursts. These bursts require a soccer player to accelerate either to a ball to win it or to an opposing player. Acceleration speed for soccer players will be addressed in the next post.

Have a great day!

Gary

How old should you start to speed train?

Now that is an interesting question! As an athletic performance coach, I have the opportunity to talk to many parents about this subject. Just yesterday I had a parent say to me that he heard that speed training for a 10 year old is a waste of time.

That couldn't be further from the truth! As a matter of fact, I would say it is very important for a young child to start to work on their speed and here is why:

• at a younger age, they haven't developed as many bad habits as they possibly will when they are 14 or even 17/18 years of age
• at that age, they are like sponges and readily absorb this information
• it is easier for them to learn at that age

Teaching them linear and lateral movement skills early on, will not only help them learn those movement skills easier, but in the long run it will help them in other ways too. They will get faster by learning proper mechanics, they will lessen the likelihood of an injury down the road and most importantly at that age is they will gain confidence in themselves and feel good about themselves as well.

Those benefits are so important for their development. Speed is a skill, so is change of direction. Helping them learn these skills early on is a good thing for them not a bad thing. With regards to many sports, I believe that learning these movement skills at an early age is more important to the development of a player as they get older then it is to learn sport specific skills at a young age.

Thanks and have a great day!

Gary