Soccer Training - For Improved Fitness and Better Skills

"Better Skills and Improved Fitness"

Complete soccer training covers both of the most important areas to develop a strong soccer player.

If you have great fitness levels, but are poor at controlling the ball, you will not be as successful a soccer player as you could be.

Also, being able to control a ball with ease, and not being able to make it up and down the field, will really prevent you from enjoying this beautiful game.

So there are 2 areas to work on with your soccer training drills:

1. Ball Control Skills (technique)
2. Soccer Fitness

#1. Ball Control Skills!

Also called technique. Slick moves and precision ball exchange is the mark of an experienced and skilled player. To reach that level there a number of skills that you need to work on to improve your soccer game.

Ball Control - giving and receiving the ball.

Kicking the ball.

Passing the ball.

Dribbling - handling the ball while moving.

Heading the ball.

Throwing the ball.

Tackling your opponent (No, not like American football).

There are a many ways to improve the skills portion of your game. Each strategy has its own benefits:

Repetition

Practice a move repeatedly until you can do it without thinking.

It will soon become automatic.

Watch and Learn

Observing other more accomplished players on a regular basis will let you see what other can do. Then decide what you want to learn, and do it.

Watch Soccer DVD's or Soccer Videos

Watching soccer dvd's or videos will allow you to visualize what others do. Not only will you be able to learn how to do it. But also how to defend against it. Plus you can replay it as much as you want to!

Visualization

Close your eyes and see yourself making a certain move or making a certain play. Really focus on it. I have used this tactic more then once. It works.

One day I was preparing for a championship game in a tournament. I was in the basement at home focusing on 2 goals that I wanted to score in the game. All I could see was me scoring those 2 goals. When I arrived at the field that day a friend of mine approached me. We talked a little and when he was about to leave he looked at me and said, very matter of factly, "you look like you have a couple in you today." We won the game 5-2 and I had 2 goals. One with each foot! Just like I had visualized.

#2. Soccer Fitness!

Physical fitness is the other extremely important part of soccer training. No matter what position you play, you will be doing a lot of running. Except the goalkeeper. But the soccer goalie has to be fit as well.

Strikers, midfielders, and defenders all are required to run the length of the field many times during a soccer match. Most professional soccer players will run between 4 to 8 miles (6 to 12 kilometers) during a match.

Here are the main areas that you should cover in your soccer fitness training:

Speed & Agility

Continually improve these areas to out-maneuver your opponents.

Flexibility and Warming up

You can have all the speed and moves in the world. If your muscles are not ready and warmed up for the torture that you will put them through, you may injure yourself.

Strength & Muscles

Building your lungs is good. Combine that with weight training for soccer and you will create a winning combination.

Combine these 2 areas of soccer training and you will defeat your opponents any time that you want to.

Wayne MacLean has over 30 years of experience in the game of soccer. As a soccer coach, soccer player, soccer referee, and all-around soccer fan. Wayne is now adding a new dimension to his love of soccer. He now writes to help those involved in soccer. Check out my Soccer Training page.