Your Soccer Fitness Coach

As most of you know i have followed the Beckham saga a little and this i find pretty amusing. The England manager has said that if Beckham does not play regularly in the next couple of months he has no chance to play for England. Beckham went to Milan for fitness so he could make the English squad but if he does not play then what does he do…. read the rest of the story below

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article5376258.ece

Soccer Warm-ups are one of the most important parts of any practice and especially games. I can’t believe I am still writing about this topic. I guess it is a hard habit for many coaches to break. Here is what I have seen even in the last couple of months:

Coaches go tell their players to warm-up and they just mill around lazily passing the ball or sitting and stretching (statically ugh)!

Coaches tell players to ”Stretch Out” -athletes sit usually in a circle and talk the whole time are they actually doing anything?

Coaches tell players to run yes for some reason it is always 2 laps I do not think i have ever heard 3 laps not that that would be better.

Coaches tell players to line up for shots on goal…..now they don’t just say take it easy they want the players to blast the ball and has the goalie even prepared to take a shot.

Coaches tell players to do a dynamic warm-up (good job) then right before the game they static stretch for a good 5-10 minutes.

Coaches do just technique stuff to warm-up …you know the whole specificity thing….at least that is their excuse.

And the worst thing is nothing!

The easiest way to condition, reduce the risk of injury, increase strength, power, and flexibility is a well thought out Dynamic Flexibility Warm-up that includes BOTH non ball exercise and ball skills.

Check out the rest of the article here

Here in the northeast the weather starts to get chilly and the soccer turns from the outdoor version to the indoor version. Here is what I have been seeing from youth indoor soccer: injuries, over training, bad habits, burn out. Let’s look at the schedule for a soccer player that plays all year round starting in the fall season

August- Preseason and start of some seasons

Sept- Mid to late November- Actual spring season

November-March- Indoor season sometimes three different sessions

March - May - Spring season

June - july Playoffs, regionals, camps

When is the recovery time?

The most important seasons are spring and fall not the winter season or the indoor season but i see far to many coaches put a large emphasis on winning during the indoor season. Causing all sorts of issues. It is virtually impossible to play 12 months of high level soccer without risking health, injury, and love of the game.

One of the major problems is that many of the overuse injuries seem minor at the time but build up slowly as the winter season ends and the spring season starts. The injuries may come and go or change from one spot to another. This is a brutal injury cycle that does not allow the body to fully recover. This injury cycle can lead to frustration and loss of performance.

I am not saying that you should not have practices or even play games during the winter season but the emphasis should be on player development not winning a indoor session or indoor tournament.  This is also a great time to increase your overall all strength and speed for the spring season.

This is just the beginning of this topic for me,  as the winter season starts to ramp up more I will keep you posted on the observations of the athletes i am working with.