By Philip Cauchi
Question - I only have my players for two training sessions a week, so I have to do the fitness work in the regular training sessions. Do you have any good drills where I can teach technique and even tactics while getting some conditioning work in?
The below practices can aid in helping the coach combining conditioning with technical and tactical work.
Practice 8: Reactive 1v1 to score.
Conditioning aim: To finish on goal with speed.
Training volume: 2 sets of 6 repetitions where each repetition is approximately four seconds long. Players rest for forty seconds between repetitions and three minutes between sets.
Practice area: 35 yards by 15 yards.
Description: Four players are each given a number from 1 to 4. All of the players have a ball. The coach calls two numbers. The player representing the first number that is called runs forward with the ball to shoot at goal while the player representing the second number runs back to defend the goal. If the player with the ball scores, he scores a point but if he misses the target the defender earns a point.
Variation: Coach shows two colours instead of calling out the numbers.
Conditioning Outcomes:
1. Explode into space with the ball.
2. Control the ball while running while running at a high speed.
Practice 9: 3v3 on two goals with no goalkeepers.
Conditioning aim: To perform a high number of quality soccer actions.
Training volume: 4 to 6 series where each serie is two minutes in duration. Two minutes of rest are to be allowed between series.
Practice area: 25 yards by 20 yards.
Description: Two teams of three players each. No goalkeepers take part in this game. Teams are only allowed to score from inside the opponents’ defending half. To keep the intensity high, whenever the ball goes out of play or a goal is score, the coach immediately puts another ball in play.
Variations:
1. One of the two teams play with four players thus having numerical superiority.
2. One of the two teams start with a goal deficit of 1-0. They have two minutes to equalise and perhaps win the game.
Conditioning Outcomes:
1. Perform a high frequency of soccer actions.
2. Keep the quality of these actions.
Practice 10: Continuous dribbling.
Conditioning aim: To perform a high number of quality dribbles.
Training volume: 6 to 8 series of one minute each with one minute recovery in between.
Practice area: 25 yards by 25 yards.
Description: Four players dribble the ball from one hoop to another. After stopping the ball inside a hoop they quickly move to another hoop to take the ball positioned in it and dribble it to another hoop that is empty.
Variation: Perform the practice as a relay between team members where each team has three players. Play for two minutes instead of one.
Conditioning Outcomes:
1. Perform a high number of dribbles.
2. Keep the quality of these dribbles.
By Philip Cauchi
