Questions on Athleticism

https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/coaching-soccer-speed-and-agility.830970/

and

http://ezinearticles.com/?Soccer-Agility-Drills&id=812394

Patrick Beith has a number of articles on line which provide information about improving SAQ. Just google for his name.

 

RCA2 that person who called himself BigGuy really gave good information.

 

I'd not mix things up to start. Just focus on the speed work. A simple and easy exercise is to go to a local track and sprint the 100 meter sections while walking the curved sections. Do 6-8 of those to improve your longer sprint speeds. Hill work is supposed to be great, too.

 

A couple of points.

First speed training should be done while you are rested. So the technique training you saw in the link was suggested to be preformed as a warm-up activity. This is a pretty common practice by coaches. Effectively you can't do endurance training and speed training in the same activity. You should do speed training first while you are fresh.

Second how you do sprints is the difference between speed training and endurance training. If you are fully rested (heart rate wise) while performing a set of sprints, then it is speed training. If you don't fully recover (heart rate wise) while performing a set of sprints, then it is endurance (anaerobic) training.

Last your speed training should be like the movements in the game. In soccer players don't do 100 m sprints. They do random sprints of varied lengths up to 60 yards, i.e., mostly acceleration. So typically for soccer a coach would have you do varied distance sets of 15 yds. to 60 yds with time for recovery of the heart rate.

 

Yes he did.

 

1. Ground Marker Drill
1). Place 4 ground markers out in a straight line approximately three yards apart.
2). In between each set of markers place another marker only three yards to the left.
3). Players are to sprint from one marker to the next bending down to touch each one with your hand.
4). The emphasis is on taking quick side steps, rather than turning to face the marker and sprinting forward - that takes more time (which don't have in a game).
2. Teamate Chase Drill

Before you get to the final marker you will stop in the middle and move laterally to the left to touch the marker?

 

In my experience any advice that starts with "Just do ____" is bound to either cause an injury or at best be ineffective. Few problems in life and in sports are so simple that they can be remedied with just one or two things.

If you're serious about not wasting your time with improving fitness, you need a regimented program put together by someone who really knows his shit, ie, a professional soccer conditioning coach.

The program I follow has two planned main types of workouts; one focused on linear speed, one focused on lateral speed, and another one focused on de-loading and recovery.

Each workout has the following components;
-Movement prep (dynamic warmups specific to the either lateral or linear speed workout)
-Plyometrics/Power module (focus on quickness and stabilization)
-Movement Skills module (working on specific movement patterns; arm movement, crossover steps, acceleration/deccelation mechanics, etc)
-Strength and prehab module (core, hip, knee, ankle strengthing)
-Work capacity (anaerobic work for super short term, medium term and longer term end longer term endurance)
-Regeneration and Recovery.

This workout has about 80 different soccer specific exercises with prescribed reps, exercise descriptions, tips, etc.

It set me back all of $40 in 2007. I'm not trying to promote this specific program, but I want to show you that is how you tell apart simplistic garbage advice from a program designed by the pros. Use your head and don't get hurt following shitty advice.

 

There is so much garbage fitness advice on the internet, you should really be careful with selecting your source. Example; how many people who say, "oh, just do plyometrics for speed" even know what makes exercise plyometric?

In case you're wondering, it's this;


The point I'm trying to get across is that everyone is an expert on the internet. You should discover whom the reputable people in the soccer fitness business are, and listen to them with the exclusion of everyone else.

 

Frankly speaking, most of us probably don't feel like listing out a hugely intricate training plan. Most players aren't playing professionally (who post in here) and most just don't have the time to get that involved with everything. I'm doing my workout plan - to some extent - off the cuff, mixing up a variety of work types and I'm seeing fantastic, healthy results.

Not everything has to be done to super specificity or intricately detailed.

That's why many of us in here have handed out most general advice - if someone wants a lot more involved information, that's where it comes down to paying for it, usually. I definitely agree that it's a risk to ask generic, faceless internet people for exercise advice. I'd also suggest finding reputable exercise sites to get more info or finding a personal trainer.

 

I greatly appreciate these links and suggestions. I am a very new adult soccer player and I have endurance to go for days from running long distance but I just fall apart quick when I have to race against these defenders or forwards. I will check these out

Thanks!

 

The advice everyone else gave has been spot on. Have you tried playing other sports to use them as training? Tennis is good for agility and reaction time, swimming is great for endurance (both muscular and cardiovascular), etc etc etc. Don't be afraid to mix it up. You could also look for speed&agility coaches.

 

Which workouts are good to improve atlheticism(agility, conditioning, speed) for full backs? do they need to focus on long runs? short explosive? those running on the sand help or it is bad for speed?

 

Mat Herold who posts here is a professional strength and conditioning coach. I bought a copy of his xfactor program, which he sells on line for a modest price. I haven't used it. I bought it out curiosity because this program, unlike the others I have seen, is specifically designed for soccer. I wanted to see what an up-to-date professionally designed soccer specific program looked like. I was impressed. It is a lot of information for the price. You can find out more by googling his name and xfactor.

 

I bought this based mostly off the recommendation of a BS poster (dejansavicevic maybe?). I just got it the other day, so I haven't used the program yet. I watched the DVD and did some of the exercises yesterday to familiarize myself with them before I start the program. I was impressed with some of the exercises and I'm looking forward to doing the program. My only worry is that the video (and information contained in it) is dated; the athletes demonstrating the exercises were wearing cleats that adidas hasn't made in years.

I wish I would have known about Mat Herolds's X Factor or I might have tried that instead.

 

This is an awesome program and the guy instructing, Mark Verstegen is a highly regarded authority. I am also interested in Matt Herolds program because it's supposed to integrate weight training, wheareas the Core Performance program is basically bodyweight only.

Quote:
"Mark Verstegen is the President and Founder of Athletes’ Performance and Core Performance. He serves as the Director of Performance for the NFL Players Association, and is an athletic coach for the German national football team.[1][2][3] He also set a Guinness World Record with Sheraton Hotels for the World's Largest Resistance Band Strength Training Class.[4]
He directs a team of performance, nutrition and rehabilitation specialists to train athletes including 2010 NFL #1 Draft Pick Sam Bradford and the last 5 #1 NFL Draft Picks,[5] the German National Soccer Team,[6] USA Men's National Team, Everton F.C.[7] and the MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and Sporting Kansas City;[8] baseball's Justin Morneau,[9] Brian Roberts and Evan Longoria; NFL players Mike Karney, Max Starks, Terrell Thomas; hockey players Chris Drury and Angela Ruggiero;[10] and NBA players Kevin Love and Caron Butler."

 

I don't put much stock in which pro athlete used any particular program. In most cases they're getting paid for that endorsement AND in most cases, your own individual mileage will vary, depending upon the work you put into any specific program.

 

Hi, I'm not sure how helpful my advice will be to you and the OP, but I am a very quick and pacey fullback/winger. So maybe you can gain something from my perspective.

The disclaimer is I have always been quick/fast, even without training. It is true that I may have a genetic advantage, but I'm also not shy when it comes to training. Training is very important for many other athletic reasons and I don't miss a training day, especially when it comes to lifting weights. To me, there is no such thing as speed training. Focus on power training. I come from a basketball background and heavy weight training and plyometrics is a given. Squats, lunges, and targeted isolation exercises on all muscles in your leg. Do not be afraid to work up to high weights as long as your form is good. This wont necessarily make you faster right away, but you will be ahead of most players if you have a good strong foundation to start with. Weightlifting alone is not good enough. You want to also develop and increase the ratio of "fast twitch" muscle fibers... that's where plyometrics and sprinting can help. As a basketball player, there was heavy emphasis on jumping and vertical increases in jump height. Surprisingly, I found that it also improved my agility and sprint speed. It's because muscles used for power generation in jumping is used in sprinting. It's one of the reasons why Olympic sprinters usually have incredible jumping ability. Do some studying on plyometrics as there is a multitude of exercises that can be done. I will say there is one exercise in particular, the Bulgarian Split Squat, that gave me tremendous improvement during training... maybe that is just personal but I loved that exercise.

Now what is more important for a fullback? Flat out sprints is important because as a fullback you will need to recover, a lot. You will get tricked by creative wingers and they will get by you, your only way to recover is to be able to sprint back to recover your positioning. Being faster then the winger (thankfully, I usually am) will save you a lot of frustration because one mistake wont leave you in the dust. You also need sprint speed for making overlapping runs and marking players who like to make runs.

But when you are in position, agility and ability to change direction is just important, if not more. It's pretty obvious why this is important. If you ever had to guard someone in Basketball, Football, or any sport, really, you have to be quick when moving in all 360 degrees. There was this study that was recently done about cheetahs who are well known for their top speed. The study basically concluded that not only were cheetahs very fast runners like everyone expects, but one of the main reasons for their success when hunting is their incredible agility, something that wasn't really well known. Your goal athletically is to be the cheetah on the soccer field Try not to be thinking of which is more important because they are all important and will need to be used at certain times of the match.

Running on the sand and stuff seems gimmicky and I doubt it would help speed/agility. Actually it is probably bad because the sand "gives" a lot, so it goes against the springy mechanism that is used in sprinting, jumping, and changing directions. I would work on a wooden floor in gyms if possible. Wooden floors are good because they have some inherit shock absorption in them, but have enough friction to give you maximum traction you need granted you are wearing the right kind of shoes while also being a stable, flat surface. Avoid cement and grass fields. Unless you play at a really good facility, grass fields are usually not consistent and you need a stable ground when working on this stuff. You shouldn't have to worry about that hidden pothole or the awkward uneven ground when you are training. It is a failed training session if you get injured. Also, do not train in soccer shoes! For some reason, I find them to be horrible when it comes to stability and the sides are sometimes rounded, making it easy to roll your ankle. A lot of them are flat and have minimal padding which will make your feet not so comfortable. Get some shoes made for training. I like the Nike Free Trainers.

Take my advice for what it is, as I come from a different athletic background. I used to train more like a football/basketball player. When I made the switch over to soccer, I found that athletic soccer training left a lot to be desired, so I really stick a lot to older training workouts that I did in the past with my own adjustments made over time. Personally, my workout is weight lifting focused with supplementation of flexibility and core exercises. I do less plyometrics than when I was playing basketball. I sprint so much during the match playing fullback or winger that I don't really need to do much sprinting outside of the match. My sprinting gains would probably be negligible if I did.

 

I agree with most of what you are saying, but the difference is that athletes and pro sports teams pay Verstegen/Athletes Performance. There might be some that they compensate, but the fact that he works with national teams shows me that he knows what he is talking about. I just want exercises and a program from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Of course you only get what you put in to a program. I'd rather put more effort into an efficient program than an inefficient one.

 

Thank you ^.^

I usually train leg 2 times a week, I do squats on the ball, deadlifts , lunges and step ups and vertical jump 1 time a week, I will start doing the bulgarian squat splits , are agility ladder pylometrics?
About the recovery I am thinking of running in my total speed on a futsal field then rest 30 seconds and run again the field, what do you think?