Weight Training For Soccer - Improve Strength and Endurance

Win the challenges for the ball with explosive power

Weight training for soccer is not about building huge muscles. It is about:

Upper Body Strength

Aids in complete explosive power.
Helps you shield the ball from the opposition.
Helps you gain position on your opposition.
Helps you throw well on throw-ins.
Helps to prevent injury.

Lower Body Strength

For powerful shots and firm passes.
Jump above others to win head balls.
Firm tackling to steal the ball.
Improved agility.
Improved speed and acceleration.
Helps to prevent injury.

Performance

To be a quality soccer player you need to be a complete athlete. No other sport requires the physical strength and lung capacity that soccer does. You have to be able to run short distances of 10 to 20 yards quickly, but you also need the endurance to last 90 minutes of a soccer match. You also need to be able to hold off the opposition and win challenges for the ball. These skills require more than just lifting heavy weights. It requires balancing your weight training for soccer to include all parts of your body.

How to Train

You cannot just go to the gym and do the normal 3 sets of 10 repetitions of all the standard exercises and get soccer fit. If you think so, you are kidding yourself. Bodybuilders do that to build size and strength. Your goal is different. Unless you want to be a huge bodybuilder, with little agility, and no flexibility. Hey, you could be a huge pylon!

Your training should include:

Weights to increase strength and power.
Circuit training. This provides cardiovascular and strength improvement. Try using movements that you would use in a soccer game.
Plyometrics - a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power. For example bounding, hopping, and jumping, for the purposes of improving performance in a specific sport.

Is That Enough?

Well of course not. With any smart soccer strength training or soccer speed training program, you need a healthy diet. You can build your strength and agility, but without the energy to go along with it just won't matter.

So work smart, eat well, and train properly. Your soccer training will develop a lean-muscled, physically fit, explosively powered soccer body.

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 many articles and creates soccer videos to help those that are involved in soccer, are new to soccer, or just want to know more about soccer. Check out my Weight Training for Soccer [http://www.soccer.information-universe.com/weight-training-for-soccer/weight-training-for-soccer.php] page.

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Soccer Training Drills - Improve Every Part of Your Game

What are soccer training drills to you?"

A lot of soccer players think that they will be constantly running, running, running. But there is much more to it than that. Combining the soccer fitness part of the game, with ball control skills drills, will put your team on top.

Remember that not all players will learn at the same pace. You should assess the skill level of all of your players for each skill area, and provide them with the appropriate improvement drills.

Be Prepared

A soccer practice that is well-planned is created with a flow. A practice must have targeted goals, not just a random mixing of drills. So start with the basics, and work up to group tactics. The group portion will be much closer to a real game. This will help your players bridge the gap between the practice and game situation.

Areas to Cover

If you cannot perform the basics, you just cannot perform. There are a number of important areas to cover when drilling your soccer team. But it is always best to start with the basics.

Passing and receiving rolling balls.
Passing and receiving balls in the air.
Dribbling the ball.
Shielding the ball.
Tackling your opponents and recovering the ball.
Heading the ball.
Shooting the ball.
Don't ever forget goalkeeper training drills. If your team is solid with all the above skills, but have a poor goalkeeper, it will be a long season!

The Next Level

Once your players have conquered the basics you can move on to more advanced ball control techniques. These techniques include:

Push passes and shots.
Swerve passes, and shots with the inside or outside of the foot.
Instep drive passes and shots.
Lofted passes.
Chipping the ball.
Volleying the ball.
Attacking as a group.
Defending as a group.
Attacking as a team.
Defending as a team.
Corner kicks.
Free kicks.
Further Development

As you assess the improvement in the skills of individual players you will see joy on their faces as well as on yours. But soccer is a team game. That means that there are other things to think about. Like....

What players skills will work best at which position?
Who has the fitness level required?
Are they really team players?
What formation should we play?
Who is the leader of this team?
The answers to these questions will have you well on your way to creating a successful soccer team.

There are soccer training drills available to cover every aspect of the soccer game and help any soccer player improve their skills.

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 many articles and creates soccer videos to help those that are involved in soccer, are new to soccer, or just want to know more about soccer. Check out my Soccer Training Drills blog for more great soccer information for yourself or your team.

The Soccer Drill Sargeant

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Soccer Equipment - The Perfect Tools to Improve Your Game

"Leave Your Opponents in a Spin"

When you have good soccer equipment nothing can keep you, or your squad, from improving. Unless you don't use it. After all, where would a great artist be without his paints, brush, and canvas?

Results!

When you pair the right soccer equipment with excellent soccer drills you can make great improvement of your talents, or the skills of your team. More talent, better results, Yes?

So let's check out...

What's out there?

When it comes to soccer training equipment there are many advanced tools to get the most out of any soccer player, and improve the level of skill.Soccer Balls!The game of soccer revolves around that perfectly round soccer ball. Soccer balls have different sizes based on the age level of the players that use them. They also differ in color scheme and design. We all know we need to increase our endurance to play soccer, but without ball skills you are just a runner.

Soccer Bags!An easy to carry bag for all those soccer balls is a good investment. Who likes having all those balls flying around in your vehicle?

And what about...

Carrying all of your soccer gear. Just find a great design and a bag that will set you apart, or show your support for your favorite soccer club. It's okay to be an individual while being a strong piece of your soccer team puzzle.

Improve Your Agility!You can improve this part of your game with agility ladders that lay flat on the ground, or agility poles that stick in the ground. They are great for slalom practice. Or you can use cones on the ground, but when using poles it is more realistic. It shows that there is really an opponent in your way. Banana Steps and hurdles are 2 other tools that will improve your agility.

Soccer Goals

Soccer goals come in a variety of different sizes for different purposes.

The full size goal is available for regulation sized soccer fields. However, there are a variety of sizes available for practicing small-sided games and for youth soccer. These include portable soccer goals and indoor soccer goals of various sizes that depend on the size of the indoor site. Soccer goals will usually come complete with a soccer net so make sure that you check that out .

Other Choices!There are many other soccer equipment items available for soccer training. These choices can include but are not limited to:

Training Chutes
Kicking Trainers
Soccer Corner Flags
Medicine Balls
Soccer Tennis Nets
Soccer Mannequins
Soccer Rebounders
Each one has its place in your training program.

Remember that the best piece of equipment that you can have is your mind. Staying focused on improving your game will provide faster and more effective benefits than all the soccer equipment you can buy.

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 many articles and creates soccer videos to help those that are involved in soccer, are new to soccer, or just want to know more about soccer. Check out my Soccer Equipment [http://www.soccer.information-universe.com/soccer-equipment/soccer-equipment.php] page.

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