These 5 Exercises will make any Soccer Player Faster, Stronger and Explosive

Calling all soccer coaches: 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. This is the topic for today! 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 are 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.

For more information on soccer skills and speed tips, you can go over to my website http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to get soccer and speed tips delivered to your inbox every week.

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

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