Soccer Player's Center of Gravity

If soccer players can shift their center of gravity quickly from one side to another, this will enable them to very explosively and quickly create separation from themselves and their defenders. This is equally true for defenders trying to stay with their marks!

By quickly shifting their center of gravity, a soccer player can now explode in a new direction faster, more economically and safely.

For starters, soccer players need to also start by lowering their center of gravity. The best way to do that is to simply bend their knees and drop their hips.

Here is a simple drill for a player to better understand how they can change their center of gravity thus allowing them to change direction more quickly.

Have them stand with their feet about shoulder width apart and toes pointing straight ahead. Next have them lean to the right and place about 80% of their body weight onto their right leg. Once they do that, they should have their arms in a running position where their left hand is raised to the height of their left shoulder socket (arm at a 90 degree angle) and their right arm is also at a 90 degree angle but it is positioned so that the players looks like they are reaching into their right back pocket.

Then have them shift sides where now their body weight (80%) is on their left leg and their right hand is raised to the height of their right shoulder socket and their left hand is reaching back for their left back pocket.

Have them go back and forth like this (shifting weight from one leg to the other) and switch their arms as well. Once they learn this movement, they will be able to change direction more fluently and quickly.

I hope you enjoyed this training nugget. Should you want more detail on changing direction explosively, look for my new DVD coming out in about 30 days. Go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to find out when this is coming out. Or view the sample below.



Thanks and 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

Soccer players need Active Dynamic Warm Up

Have you ever watched a soccer team start a game and within eight to ten minutes they are down by a goal or two? I see it all the time. It isn't always due to one team being superior to the other team. As a metter of fact, in many cases, these teams that go down early come back and win the game.

If teams would consider getting their soccer players warmed up more properly, this slow start could be avoided.

An active dynamic warm up first starts by getting the player to raise their core body temperature one to two degrees. For every degree that a soccer player can increase their core body temperature, they get one to three percent more power.

Just jogging around the field one time does not warm the core temperature up sufficiently. I see so many teams do just that however beforethey play their game.

Soccer players as well as other athletes, need to first raise their core temperature and then stretch dynamically. Doing this will help a soccer player avoid injury plus allow him or her to be ready to play at a high level as the game commences. Doing a proper active dynamic warm up will help all players and ultimately help the team be more successful.

Stay tuned for the next post as it will be on do youth players really need to be so technical with the ball?

Have a great day everyone!

Gary