Individual Training Class 1: Soccer fitness > Speed, Agility & Flexibility

Practicing on Your Own:Practice is all about working at high pace and learning to transition from one skill to another. You'll be able to do that more effectively with just a ball and a wall. For your dribbling or agility sessions and simply for marking purposes, you may consider buying 9" or 12" cones, marker cones.

Soccer Fitness: A player's position means close to nothing in the modern version. Most defenders are required run down the wing, while forwards always check back to link up with the halfbacks. Due to this, an average field player, runs about 10 kilometers (6 miles) per match. Some midfielders cover up to 13-15 kilometers (8 miles)

Soccer speed: Reflexes, tactical anticipation, agility are factors which influence the pace at which one performs on the field. Soccer speed is not confined to sprinting alone as players rarely sprint for over 20 meters at a time. Rapid change of direction, acceleration and above all, speed with the ball is to be practiced. ( All drills designed to improve speed must be executed at maximum effort. You will need to segment your drills into intervals in order to suppress fatigue. )

Physical attributes affecting speed: You need to stress your muscles beyond their maximum capacity. As a result, your body will "overcompensate" by developing stronger and bigger muscles. Exercises designed to "overload" your muscles, the most simple and soccer-specific of which is sprinting, weightlifting and plyometrics .

Technique (with and without the ball) : Sprinting, in contrast to jogging, requires that you contact the ground with your toes. Your upper body should be slightly bent forward. You must keep your arms aside of your body. Put emphasis on driving your legs forward with each stride. By feeling out the ideal length of your stride, you can adjust for optimal performance. Once you have adapted a good sprinting stride, you should not change the rhythm by shortening or lengthening your step. You can practice your ideal stride by placing a line of cones with an equal distance between each. When you sprint next to the cones they will give you a sense of the consistency in your stride and speed. Remember to swing your arms parallel to your path rather than across the body as it preserves energy.

When a player is moving with the ball at speed, he has to keep a low center of gravity. His knees are bent and he is leaning slightly forward. When dribbling in a straight line, the ball has to be pushed with the instep and should not spin. Control is extremely important when working on your speed with the ball. If you feel that you are losing your handle, you are moving faster than your skill level allows.

Body condition: Fatigue renders speed training useless because it prevents you from pushing yourself to the limit. Muscles regenerate on the day after the actual exercise, therefore intense speed or weightlifting workouts should not be done more than 2-3 times per week. Your nutritional habits also affect your speed indirectly. Excessive body fat acts as baggage when you're trying to run. Shed some fat and gain more pace.

Flexibility: Flexibility is a major component of speed. Without good flexibility, your form will suffer, your stride will be shorter and you'll be at higher risk for injury.