Three Training Principles Every Coach and Player Needs to Know

When you compare today’s professional soccer players, both men and women, to players of the past, they are faster, more flexible, and more powerful than ever before. They are more aware of the functioning of their bodies and look to all aspects of fitness and exercise to increase their level of play. Optimal body mechanics, movement efficiency, and ball control is just as important for the amateur player as it is for the pro. Therefore, all athletic components should be addressed in a comprehensive training program.

Look to strength training, for example, to have a positive effect on power production and protection from injury by strengthening those muscles that will elicit the greatest benefit to improved performance within a specific movement pattern.  But, how is this best achieved when maximizing performance of specific individuals is your goal? Here are 3 major considerations.

1. Every level of soccer player needs exercises designed for the demands of their position.  A defender places high priority on his explosive skills, his or her ability for agility, and the ongoing need to produce power. Yes, many skills are overlapping among positions, but training priorities can be vastly different. Contrast a defender’s training demands with that of a goalkeeper. Goalkeepers place training priorities on reaction speed, hand-eye coordination, and a greater emphasis on agility, but in a more reactionary environment.
2. Every level of soccer player needs exercises designed for the demands of soccer itself.  The game of competitive soccer requires a balanced mix of running, multi-directional sprinting, backwards jogging, and walking all in one match. Soccer players are continuously accelerating, decelerating, and reaccelerating again in combination with power, control, finesse, and endurance. Each of these components should be addressed and maximized for better performance.  Training for soccer is not training for a track meet!
3. Every level of soccer player needs exercises designed for their individual qualities and level of play.  Each player brings certain genetic traits and dispositions to the field. This is what makes the team dynamic and so exciting. Imagine a whole field of unique players, each with their own athletic gifts ready to bring to the soccer field. Now, the challenge is to set a foundation for development for each player as building blocks in consideration of their individual talents. Each player will perform basic movement patterns in their own unique way, have different levels of flexibility and mobility, varying levels of coordination, different abilities to generate strength and power, and bring to the table a different work ethic and work capacity.

Being able to satisfy all three of these demands in each player’s training program within a team dynamic is a must for any successful program. Specific exercise choices, dynamic stretch routines, and training drills will help you give every level of player the opportunity to perform to his or her potential.

(Jeremy Boone is an internationally recognized speaker and Soccer Performance Coach. To learn more specific details about world cup soccer training principles and programs.)