Today’s question is this,

Is soccer a sprint sport or an endurance sport?

Any answers?

Did anyone say both?

Soccer is a complex combination of both and depends on the position, tactics, style, age or level of development.

Soccer speed is the ability to take off from any position with sharpness.

Soccer speed is also the ability to reach your top speed in the shortest time possible.

Soccer speed also includes change of direction and having the ability to stop rapidly and then have the ability to reach top speed again.

When we talk about speed in soccer, we’re talking about leg speed. Leg speed is commonly referred to as the stride and the stride can be further broken down into stride length and stride frequency.

Many believe that speed is gifted through genetics. To some extent this is true. However, your stride can be improved.

How do you ask?

The most important aspect of the stride in relation to soccer is control. Controlling the stride is closely related to stride frequency.

Would a sprinter make a good soccer player?

Who knows, right? But I strongly doubt it.

Sprinters have a long stride, which is great for the 100-metre sprint and for straight lines. But can you adopt this to soccer?

Don’t get me wrong here; speed is never a liability especially in soccer. However speed in soccer must be adaptable.

Soccer requires a compact stride with leg speed that enhances both control and the ability to change direction. The compact stride is also necessary for lightning stops and even quicker accelerations.

So what sprint mechanics are ideal for soccer?

Sprint mechanics can be broken into 3 categories.

Posture, arm action and leg action.

Once you’ve established a controlled stride with quick leg speed, you can improve this through pattern running workouts. These workouts replicate the stopping, starting, planting and cutting from different positions required for soccer.

Sprinting in a match is defined as the highest movement speed attained and also referred to as your top speed. Elite soccer players sprint approximately 15.8% of the total distance covered in a match. The rest comprises of ¾ pace, jogging, walking and even standing.

The challenge we face in soccer is combining the worlds of a sprinter and the endurance runner without ever compromising our sharpness.

So set up the cones and fall in love with your sprint workouts.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars”.

Purpose: Warm Up Routine

No of Players: 2 Teams of 6-8 players.

Playing Area: Penalty box extended sideways to touchlines.

Duration: Up to 20 minutes.

Outline: One team tries to score points by hitting an opponent with the ball without losing possession. The other team tries to gain possession. One point is scored for every opponent hit.

Both teams are on the pitch together. Direct passing only. Dribbling is not permitted. The opposing team gets the ball after every shot missed,

• if the ball goes out of play
• if an opposing player gets the ball first from a throw in
• if player goes over the boundary line.

A player that has been hit can only rejoin the game only if one of his team mates regains the ball.

Possible Variations: Players that have been hit drop out and cannot rejoin. The game ends when all players have been eliminated.

Remarks: This exercise is particularly suitable for indoors and for warming up your team before training.

I’ve seen many training sessions over the years and even been a part of some terrible ones myself that teach bad habits. When practicing shooting, it is common for a coach to set up the station just outside the penalty box. A player will receive a ball at the edge of the penalty box while taking a leisurely 5 or 6 touches and then shoot towards goal. Can anyone see the problem with this? This does nothing to prepare the player for match conditions. In a real game the player will not be allowed so much time and space on the ball especially near the goals.

Coaches must be cognizant of the principle of specificity and plan the practices to reproduce as much of the match conditions as possible. Coaches have control over the training session and choice of activities. There is no excuse. Coaches must take care and put the players through game related activities that incorporate the components of soccer. If they do not or lack the ability to do so, should they be coaching soccer at any level?

Lets demonstrate this with an example. Most shooting exercises, as mentioned above are stationed just outside the penalty box. Players are allowed to leisurely dribble in and shoot. Does this replicate match day? What happens when we place players 1v1 or 2v2 within a grid outside the penalty box and ask the 2 strikers to find ways at shooting at the goals. All of a sudden we have replicated a match situation. We know have added some tactical elements to the training drill. The strikers have to earn the right to shoot at goals.

Lets take the above scenario a step further. What will happen if we add another goal for the defenders? We’ve just added the important tactical element of transition. Once the defenders dispossess the strikers of the ball, they have possession of the ball and are now looking to score a goal. As a coach, if you keep scores you have also added competition to the drill and a psychological element to the drill. Does this look like soccer now? Does this prepare the players for a game of soccer? I’ll let you decide.

The main objective of training depends on which part of the season your in. Off-season, pre-season or in-season plays a significant role in the types of training you’ll be orchestrating. During pre-season, the main training goals will be fitness, strength and technique while during the season the training sessions will be based around tactics and fitness maintenance.

When planning a training session every activity or drill should involve the ball. The players have not enrolled in athletics, they need the ball to play soccer. You cannot replicate soccer without the soccer ball. Sounds pretty straight forward doesn’t it? But how many training sessions have you had when you didn’t touch the balls? From personal experience I can honestly answer too many.

If the explanation is confusing, remember to press the link at the bottom of the post to see the drill in animation.

Purpose: Warm Up Routine.

No of Players: Maximum of 8 Players.

Playing Area: Approx 30*5m.

Duration: 15-20 Minutes.

Outline: Quick first time Passing, with rapid changing of Positioning.

Rules: Players are divided into 2 teams of 4 which take up position in 2 single files, facing one another and some 25m apart. The first player passes the ball to the front player of the opposite line and then quickly runs in the same direction, but goes to the back of the line. The ball reciever passes the ball with his first touch, returning it immediately to the starting side and then quickly runs to the opposite side and round to the back of the line. This sequence is repeated until the time duration elapses.

Variations:

• Stipulate method of passing to be used. Changing it around, instep, out step and driving the ball.
• Erect a small goal or target between the 2 groups, each player needs to pass the ball through the targets.
• The player who passes the ball, can also act as a non-challenging defender.
• Advanced: Passing can be done with the head. Move the 2 groups closer together so they can head the ball to each other.

Drill Tips: “Accuracy before Speed.” Concentrate on accuracy first in any competition between groups.

Soccer Drills For Kids: Changing Positions- Relay

Remember to keep this Soccer Drill short and fun. Its primary purpose is to get your team warmed up. As the coach you can thrown in a point system so that when ever a player makes a bad pass or a mistake, the other team is awarded a point. Obviously the team with the most points wins.

Purpose: Dribbling practice.

No of Players: 2 Teams of 4-6

Playing Area: 40*20m with the balls placed in the middle

Duration: 20 Sprints per player.

Outline: Teams line up opposite each other. The balls are placed directly in the middle. As the name of this Soccer Drill suggests, “not enough balls”, there is 2 balls less than the total number of players. ( 6 balls for 8 players). On the word go, both teams sprint towards the balls and retrieve as many balls as they can, dribbling them back to their starting point. One point is awarded for every ball that is retrieved.

Rules: Those players who are unable to find a spare ball must try and kick away as many balls from their opponents’ feet. Balls kicked out of play are lost; balls crossing the goal line gives that team 1 point. The important thing is that the players should dribble the ball across their line. Balls just kicked over the line do not count.

Remarks: One referee for each team is preferred.

The following soccer drill is designed to give players a sense of competition. For starters they need to sprint to gain possession of the ball, then dribble the ball back to their starting position. The player who gains possession of the ball after the sprint, must then try and defend the ball against their direct opponent. For the player who doesn’t gain the ball after the sprint, he must pressure the ball and try to kick the ball out of play. This soccer drill is performed at high intensity and also helps improve the players aerobic capacity. It also allows the player with the ball to work on his dribbling technique under pressure.

To view this Soccer Drill in animation press the link below:

Soccer Drills For Kids

After watching the animated Drill, you will notice that the Red Team scored 2 points, while the blue team scored 4. Ths sequence is repeated for a total of 20 sprints. The team with the most points wins.