Speed, Strength, and Conditioning -
Answer To Question #6

Question #6:

My greatest interest is with the sport I coach - soccer. Soccer requires both speed and endurance. I would like to learn more about how to develop a training program that incorporates both and how that program might evolve during the course of a season. Can you help?

Answer by Jeremy Boone:

Program design is always the most common question when it comes to conditioning soccer players. Why? Because soccer is a sport that challenges every physical skill including speed, strength, stamina, etc. Below are a few of the pearls of wisdom that I have come to discover over the past ten years on conditioning for the game:

• Soccer is sport of speed and speed endurance, not just endurance. Ultimately the team with both of these qualities will have the competitive edge. Endurance alone will just ensure that your players have the ability to work longer but slower. Taking a mindset of speed endurance will get you to focus on players who can work longer but at a much higher intensity.

• Train speed before training speed endurance. Too often coaches will wait to do ‘speed training’ until the end of their practice. However, you can’t develop true speed in an environment of fatigue. Therefore, speed training is best done at the end of a warm up and used as a transition straight into the actual practice.

• Small sided games are ideal for developing speed endurance. Depending on the skill level of your players, incorporating small sided games are an ideal and economical way to develop conditioning levels and challenge a player’s technical and tactical ability. The following variables should be considered when designing these types of games:
  
  o # of balls
  o space (size of field of play)
  o # of players
  o touch restrictions on the ball
  o duration of game
  o frequency of each game

Build from a point of intensity first. High volume running does very little to physically prepare today’s player. Over the course of a season, less and less conditioning outside of actual playing is needed. This does depend on, however, how many games are played within one week. Players who get less playing time might also do slightly more running during the season just to keep adequate levels of fitness up. Having said that, one or two short speed sessions without the ball will ensure to keep your players sharp and ready for the post season.

Products By Jeremy Boone:

Movement Based Games	Lower Body Performance for Sport	Football Fast

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