By Scott Housden - Explosive power is a key aspect in goalkeeping. It is essential for 1 v 1 situations, dealing with high balls, shot stopping and recovery and movement around the goal. The drill below can be used as part of a diving technique session or as part of a pre-season conditioning session. Set Up
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By Alex Trukan This practice is focused on developing speed at which the body recovers between high intensity actions. The quicker ATP (energy stores) is refuelled, the quicker the body will be ready for another maximal burst and breath will be kept under control. From technical point of view, the practice develops various ways to
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By Alex Trukan This practice is focused on developing explosiveness and maximal short to medium distance speed. This is based on utilising as big as possible chunk of ATP (energy stores) which can then produce maximal power. The larger the chunk is, the more energy can be produced as a result. The conditioning element is
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This practice is designed to improve the quality of high intensity actions, developing speed and power to accelerate. It is relevant for all the positions, in particular, defenders (e.g. accelerating towards the ball played in behind) or strikers (e.g. getting away from defender). It has also a technical element of turning as well as shooting. For the players it is highly engaging and fun game that develops them physically, psychologically as well as technically.
Set up and Directions
Position two goals with the back to each other, 5 yards apart. Organise goalkeepers into goals. Divide the team into two groups, and set them next to the
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The 2v2+2 game is designed to develop anaerobic power altogether with dribbling and ball control skills. Relatively small space and constant pressure requires the players in possession to look for space and adjust by quick movement with and without the ball.
Set up and directions
Organise a rectangle of approximately 15x20 m. Divide the team into three teams of two. Two teams play in the middle area and two remaining players are positioned one on each side as shown on the diagram. The aim of the team in possession is to dribble through the opposite end line, which is defended by the other team.
The game starts by coach playing the ball into attacking team, which tries to
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Transition from attack to defense is regarded as an essential component of every practice by many professional coaches. This exercise includes this phase both in the attack-defense and defense-attack versions. Moreover, physical demand placed on players develops power to accelerate, which can be used to exploit unbalance in the oppositions’ defense.
Set up and directions
Organize a rectangle of approximately 30x40 m. with one goal on each end. The size of double penalty areas can be also used. Set-up four different stations. Divide players into groups of 3/4 on each station. Coach’s position as shown on the diagram. Each player from the bottom right group needs a ball. Moreover, min. 6 balls should be placed by the top right station.
The practice starts with the first player from the bottom right group playing a ball to
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This exercise is focused on developing aerobic power in 3v2 transition scenario. The aim from the physical point of view is to improve players’ power to recover, what in turn leads to producing more actions throughout the whole match. Dynamic counter-attack scenario ensures maximal concentration and commitment.
Set up and directions:
Set up two full sized goals 50-60 m. apart. Divide the team into attackers and defenders and further divide attackers into two groups (one starting behind the goal and one in the middle of the pitch). Two goalkeepers should be positioned in goals. Organize min. 8-10 balls in the goal positioned on half-way line.
The game starts with the goalkeeper (in the goal on the half-way line) playing the ball into striker. At the same time, two
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This exercise is based on transition phase from attack to defense. Ability to prevent counter-attack recently became more important with the teams scoring more goals from the counter-attacks and quick attacks. In this practice, that is connected with shooting and running with the ball content to develop technical corner and anaerobic power from physical point of view.
Set up and directions:
Organize two full-sized goals 40-50 meters apart from each other. Set up two gates and divide the team into two groups as shown on diagram. Each player needs one ball. Goalkeepers should be positioned in goals.
The practice starts with the first player from one group dribbling towards the opposite goal. His aim is to
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The exercise is focused on improving anaerobic power in counter-attack scenario. This physical component is required to produce actions on high speed and strength. One of the examples of such scenario include 1v1 against the goalkeeper with a defender chasing from the back. Simple organisation and competitiveness of this practice makes it easy to understand and engaging.
Set up and directions:
Set up cones as on diagram. Organize two groups: attackers and defenders. First attacker starts between two red markers. All defenders have one ball each. Goalkeeper is positioned in the goal. Allow relatively big space to run with the ball (depending on players’ characteristics).
The practice starts with the first defender playing the ball to attacker positioned between
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The following practice is aimed at developing the ability to sustain many actions throughout the whole match. In example, that will enable players to produce the same amount of sprints in the first as well as last 15 minutes of the game. In addition, that is achieved in possession game, what increases the motivation of the players and links physical focus with technical and tactical content.
Set up and directions:
Set up a square of 30-40 m. depending on the ability as well as number of players. Organise min. 6 little gates in the middle of the square as shown on the diagram. Divide the group into two teams of 5 players. To score a point, a team should pass the ball through a small gate. The team with more points wins the game.
Method of scoring points in this exercise requires constant support in front and in behind the ball. After single point is scored, the game
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The exercise is focused on improving Aerobic Power. This physical component helps in recovering more efficiently and quickly after high intensity, anaerobic actions. Therefore, it helps to maintain quantity of explosive efforts of the players throughout the whole match. In more detail, it aids supplementation of high quality oxygen to lungs and muscles by improving circulation (more red blood cells and stronger heart) and ventilation (better lung capacity).
That is achieved in 5v5 Small Sided Game which is known as highly effective tool for improving tactical, technical as well as physical components. Small Sided Games ensure high motivation of players, enjoyment and competitiveness. In addition, this practice is strongly related to 11v11 soccer format as it includes all relevant components of it (opponent, direction, goals, attacking/defending/transition etc.).
Set up and directions:
Organise a pitch of approximately 30x40 yards (depending on base fitness level: bigger pitch-bigger volume/lower intensity) with one goal on each side. Divide players into two teams of 5. Normal soccer rules apply. Encourage competition, i.e. the team that loses the game takes the equipment out of the pitch.
As a basic progression to increase perceptual and physical demands, divide the pitch into two halves and set the condition that
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This exercise is focused on developing Anaerobic Power in one of the variations of 1v1 situation. Organisation of the practice encourages players to dribble, shoot and change direction on the maximum intensity.
Set up and directions
Set up a 30x40 yards area with one goal, 4 cones and 3 markers as shown on the diagram below. Width of each goal to dribble through should be 4 yards, while the distance between each marker should be between 8 to 12 yards. One player (defender) starts on the marker between two goals, one player on the middle marker and the rest of the players on the marker furthest away from the full-sized goal. Each player from that group should have one ball. The game starts as the player from that group passes the ball into the middle player. The defender becomes active on the first touch of the receiver. After one pair (attacker and defender) has finished they join back of the queue and another two players start. Players should switch their roles after each repetition.
As we can see below, on the first touch of the attacking player, defender becomes
Jebreel Bubtana
This is a great exercise to teach your team how to make overlapping runs and work on their aerobic power.
Set up the field as shown below in figure 1, with two feeders and three others who will be working and overlapping.
The feeder at the top of the diagram starts with the ball. As one of the players starts to
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This exercise is focused on improving Speed and Power in 1v1 situations. Maximum effort up to 10 seconds improves quality (explosiveness) of football actions by enhancing anaerobic energy system. 1v1 duels are present in all areas of the pitch, on every level of the game.
Set up and directions
The exercise is set up as shown below. Coach plays the ball in the middle of two players who run and compete for the ball. First player to touch the ball becomes attacker, second player becomes defender. The aim of the attacking player is to score. When defending player gains possession, his aim is to pass the ball to the coach. Attacker has 5 seconds to score. Make sure there are min. 8-10 players (4-5 pairs) to allow enough rest between repetitions (work to rest ratio 1:5/1:6). Coach should provide variety of passing types (ground/aerial/bouncing/curved). To increase competitiveness, award points for each goal.
As we can see on the following diagram, first player to the ball becomes attacker and his aim is to
Continue readingDeveloping whole body strength is essential for peak performance in soccer. How effective you are at shielding the ball from an opposing defender, getting up quickly from a fallen position and constantly withstanding shoulder to shoulder and other physical contact will depend on your whole body strength. Increased whole body strength also improves your ability to perform explosive movements such as jumping and sprinting that play a key role in soccer.
Strength for soccer can be categorized into three main types: basic strength, maximum strength, and strength endurance. Building basic strength is a precursor to developing maximum strength and strength endurance, and should be a focus of the early part the off-season. Maximum strength refers to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce the greatest amount of force. Training for maximum strength should only be done by well-trained and experienced players and is not necessary for all levels of play. Strength endurance refers to your muscles' ability to produce force over an extended period of time. Increasing strength endurance will improve the overall work capacity in your players and is very important for soccer, which involves continuous activity over a 90-minute (less for younger players) period. In this article we will focus on basic strength and strength endurance.
Contrary to what many coaches believe, developing basic strength and strength endurance do not require weights or fancy gym equipment. Doing body weight exercises such as push-ups, squats and lunges can be just as effective. Importantly, these exercises can be
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
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