By Justin Cresser - Author of Total Soccer Conditioning: A Ball Orientated Approach When focusing on the overall agility development of your players, one of the major factors to consider is stop-and-go capability. This component of agility involves the ability to rapidly accelerate and decelerate in a variety of directions and after performing various actions.
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser Today’s article focuses on developing anaerobic endurance, agility and to a lesser extent, speed over short distances. Because this activity incorporates more more than one component of conditioning, it is a great choice for in-season training sessions where more time is needed for small-sided games and match preparation, and less time can
Continue readingToday's post is from Scott Moody, our Soccer Conditioning Expert at the Soccer FIT Academy. This blog post got my attention because I've had many conversations with parents and other coaches on this subject. There are an ever-increasing number of, 'Speed and Agility' trainers, camps and businesses. But all to often they are not soccer
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser
No matter what phase of the season we are in, I always include an activity that focuses on improving my Players’ first touch. I think this is extremely important, especially at the youth level.
The following is an exercise I like to use during the competition phase at it emphasizes several components of soccer conditioning. It incorporates short sprints, anaerobic conditioning, agility, and it also develops a player’s first touch. You can also use it as a warm-up routine.
Divide your players into groups of 4. Each group will have 2 working players and 2 non-working or passing players. For each group of 4, set up the following station:
Place two large ones 30 yards apart in a straight line. Have a non-working player stand at each cone with a ball at their feet. Place two small cones in between these two large cones so that they are 10 yards apart and each small cone is 10 yards away from one of the larger cones. Have a working player stand at each of these small cones facing the non-working player closest to them (Figure 1).
On the coach’s signal, the passing players will play a ball into space that the
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s activity combines simple skill work with agility and fitness.
Start with 6 flags (or cones) staggered to create a “zig zag course”. The players start at one end and a server starts with a ball in the middle.
The first player in line sprints around the near flag and as he is sprinting to
By Justin Cresser
In my time of coaching, I have seen many goals that occur from poor defensive clearances, and in particular, poor defensive headers. Players either mistime the jump, don’t get high enough while jumping, or use poor technique.
This is exercise emphasizes rapid backpedalling and jumping ability, as well as defensive heading technique. It mimics game situations in which balls are lofted in behind a player, and is essential especially for centre-backs, who perform several headers per game while backpedaling or backtracking.
Set up two cones 10 yards apart in a straight line. Designate one cone as the starting cone. Divide your players into pairs and have one player stand in between the two cones, but 2 yards away from the starting cone, facing their partner who is standing behind the starting cone with a ball in their hands (Figure 1).
Play is initiated by having the player in between the cones accelerate towards and touch the starting cone and then immediately backpedal (at speed) towards
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser During the competitive season, the main conditioning goal is maintenance of fitness levels established in the pre- and off-seasons. With technical and tactical exercises a top priority, it can sometimes be difficult to include activities for all the different fitness components. I like to include the following (and similar) exercises in my
Continue readingHere is a simple activity that works on explosiveness, agility and ball skills.
Start with 4 hurdles (height can vary depending upon the player but 1-2 feet high work fine) spaced in a line 1 yard apart. The players starts behind the last hurdle and there are 2 servers 5 yards from the first hurdle each slightly off to the side. The servers each have a ball.
The player starts by jumping over the first hurdle then quickly slides to his right and receives a pass from
Continue readingCombining fitness, agility and skill work is a great way to get a lot done in a short period of time.
A simple example would start with a server with a ball and a player 10 yards away behind a cone.
Play would start with a ball to one side of the cone, The player comes forward 1 touches the ball back to the
Here is a simple activity that works on agility, sprinting and one touch passing. This uses L shaped movement with passing
Start with 7 cones making up and L (or a reverse L) and 3-4 players to the side. Two players start 10 yards from the last cone with 1 ball.
The first player in line “slaloms” through the cones sideways and then forward until getting to
Lateral movement forms a major part of speed during soccer, specifically during ball control. If a player possesses the skill of moving laterally, then opponents can be avoided. It is highly beneficial to forwards who need to make repeated runs with lateral movement in between. Here is an exercise that will help to improve speed and balance while changing direction: Lateral One Step and Sprint.
Purpose:
- To teach athlete to maintain speed and balance, while
Continue readingSoccer Agility – Twister
Agility is a fitness component that is highly specific to soccer. Agility is used throughout a game of soccer in making attacking runs, tracking attackers and eluding defenders. This is an exercise that involves complete body movement and is more specific to a game scenario.
Purpose:
- To provide an agility training exercise in a reactive environment, replicating a game scenario.
Coaching Cues:
- Repeat the colour combination twice to the athlete, before giving the 'go' command.
- Ensure athlete sprints between cones.
- A cut manoeuvre must be used to change direction, i.e. outside foot plant inside foot drive.
- Arms cheek to cheek.
- Powerful push back under hips.
- Stable body position out of turns.
- Always finish
Continue readingChanging pace is critical in soccer. A player that possesses this skill is able to accelerate and decelerate quickly, transferring energy from the front foot to the back and then to the front again. It is a skill used by strikers when making accelerating diagonal runs or when defenders need to intercept a penetrating ball. Here is an exercise that will help teach this change from acceleration to deceleration: Change of pace.
Purpose:
- To develop the ability to accelerate and decelerate over a very short distance.
- To develop sport specific evasion
Continue readingAll too often coaches train agility with their athletes simply by running pattern-based drills with ladders, dots, cones or lines. And although this is a necessary tactic in teaching pattern movement, it quickly loses it value once the players understand where they need to go. The player’s focus is isolated on getting to the cone by reaching with the foot or hand. Their vision is focused on the cone or line where they lose the athletic feel of the pattern, and when this happens the drill loses its effectiveness.
In reactive-situational agility we do not want the player focused on moving to a spot on the field, and we certainly do not want them
Continue readingChanging direction and foot speed are essential in the game of soccer. There are numerous times where a player must use these skills to quickly distribute a pass or run for a 50/50 challenge. Here is an exercise that will help with foot speed and change of direction: 4 Cone 1/4 Ladder Drill.
