Training for Soccer Speed

(This is a guest post from Free Footy Tips)

When it comes to playing and training for football, speed and agility should be at the forefront of any player`s mind. These days, with football played at such a frenetic pace, a lot of emphasis is put on the stamina side of the game and while this may be important, it`s speed that ultimately wins games.

Premiership footballers such as Scott Parker and Charlie Adam are spoken of as having `good engines`. What that means is that they can keep going for ninety minutes and over the course of a football season, they are less susceptible to injury than many of their team mates. Even though players like this may not be blessed with natural pace, they will also realize the value of training for speed to make them as quick as they can possibly be.

That principle should be the same for players at every level and it`s not enough to say that some players are `born quick`. Every single player at any standard of football should train to make themselves as fast as possible in order to give them that crucial edge that can turn a match in an instant.

There are several suitable regimes that you can follow in this respect but most will concentrate on developing strength and power in the entire lower body, including the core. This will give you that crucial acceleration speed that can leave an opponent trailing behind you.

You can begin to strengthen your lower body by lifting weights with your legs. As with all forms of weight training, increase the weight lifted as a steady progression and push yourself safely and firmly in a controlled program.

This form of weight training for the lower body can be built on using squat thrusts, step ups, and lunge variations, progressing toward more dynamic exercises such as jump squats, split lunge jumps, box jumps and plyometric drills. This gradual progression and overall combination is a perfect start on your road to an improved acceleration speed.Naturally, running itself will help your progress and short sprints against the clock can measure how far you have progressed. Many top athletes have used resistance running as a form of improving their overall speed and a range of high tech equipment including parachutes attached to the runner`s back have been produced.

Even if you don`t have access to such equipment, you can try running uphill, starting with gentle inclines and leading to much steeper climbs. Running in sand is a superb way to build up leg and lower body strength and you should try to adopt this method wherever possible.

As with all types of fitness work, training for speed works better when you have a set routine that you can stick to for a set period. Over the course of five days you can try alternating between weight training, thrusts and other gym work, with some resistance running. Use this method of alternating between training methods for four days and then on the final day, start some timed sprints to discover just how much you have improved.

A routine such as this can improve the speed of any athlete and give them a head start over an opponent who doesn`t put that sort of effort it. As with most things in life, if you`re prepared to put in the effort then you will see rewards.

Stamina may be important but there is a danger that too much emphasis can be put on it. In football, games are won in short bursts of activity that are aided by speed of thought and then speed of action. Even the slowest Premiership footballer will realize that and be working to improve their acceleration.

Speed should be paramount in any soccer player`s thinking and if you need some advice, there are plenty of football tips around to set you on your way to greater pace in your all round game.

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Next week I’ll be posting an article I wrote discussing cardio training.  Cardio still seems to be very popular, but could you be wasting your time? Find out next time!

Until then, Stay fast!

Josh