Soccer Training Tips

What if I told you that stretching as a part of soccer training tips is highly recommended by professional soccer coaches and is widely practiced by players in almost every sport? Soccer is a sport which is continuously growing and developing in its intricacy.

There are two kinds of stretching; static and dynamic, that are slotted in planning training for the soccer season.

Static stretching requires players to stretch their muscles to a point of resistance and hold for a given duration of time. Rebounding, rhythmic bouncing, and recurring motions are involved in dynamic stretching. In comparison with static stretching, it is more risky and less useful.

This article shares some of the benefits that stretching provides in helping average players become champions.

Soccer Training

Stretching reduces injuries: When players do stretching every day and keep doing it for a long time, it promotes their muscle growth that reduces the risk of injury. Stretching also provides a way of improving the size and strength of muscles.

Stretching affects flexibility: Stretching prevents loss of flexibility. Still, the effects of stretching are way better when it is done for a long period of time than for a shorter duration.

Stretching increases flexibility when it is performed for a few minutes before any soccer activity. But the best of all soccer training tips is to spread a stretching program over a period of months, leading to a constant increase in range of motion.

Stretching betters’ performance: When the stretching program is planned after considering the player’s soccer specific needs, their performance improves.

Make stretching fun for the kids: You can do this by including a variety of soccer drills into your training regimen. Keep changing the warm up activities that are performed before stretching. Try games like the tag game, ball tag, and keep away.

Concentrate all your energy on stretching, experience and identify with each stretch while checking for soreness.

One 15-30-second stretch for each muscle group is sufficient for most players, but some kids require longer stretches and more repetitions as well.

This is due to the fact that when the temperature of muscles is higher than normal, inflexibility decreases and extensibility increases. Kids who hope to retain or boost their flexibility can somewhat reach this goal by stretching. When their body temperature is higher as against normal, it makes it safer and more productive to stretch.

This is why some coaches tend to make their kids perform stretching exercises after a workout as well. If your kids stretch for 5-10 minutes after performing soccer skills, their muscles will not tighten too fast.

In general, players who do an active warm-up before stretching get an improved range of motion than kids who only stretch. So if injury prevention is your aim, stop stretching before exercise and increase the warm up time.

Some food for thought; one of the most important soccer training tips is that hurried stretching is meaningless and boring and doesn’t help your players gain flexibility, so allow them some extra time when they are feeling inflexible or stiff. Join to our youth soccer coaching community and you can get access to numerous articles, videos, and periodic newsletters.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Youth Soccer Drills.

I don’t know a thing about you, but I’ll bet that you must acquaint yourself with the essential soccer training tips, especially when you are participating in the game as a coach. These ideas can then be easily incorporated in your soccer drills sessions carried out 4 or 5 times in a week depending on the standard of your game.

You can help your players to perk up their performance by coaching them on these very important tips and techniques. These are as follows;

Coach your kids to keep moving the ball with one or two touches: It is also called inter-passing in case of a team setting. Guide the players to play the ball with speed and make hard solid passes, whether it’s a 3 meter or 20 meter pass.

Play the ball and keep travelling: Playing and moving encloses the basic idea behind making runs. But what is important here is to see that these movements are effective enough to create spaces for team mates and goal scoring opportunities.

Soccer Training

Soccer skills are primarily aimed at developing kid’s ability to create goal scoring options. The key here is setting up your defender. Instruct your players to draw near towards the defender, assuming that he or she is going to be able to get the ball, then give it and go, speed up into the open space to receive or return the pass.

Tell the players to keep changing their pace after moving about to beat the opponent. They should quickly attack and try to keep the ball moving as fast as possible. The moment they get a chance to break, they must even the score with a few accurate passes.

When controlling the ball, teach players to keep the ball near their feet: Of all soccer training tips, the one to keep the head up and be aware of the movements in the field is very important. They should make sure to touch the ball at every step while dribbling the ball. This perks up the player’s ability to get the ball from the defenders and ensures total control over the ball.

Get the cross in: During the first part of the game, keep an eye on the goalkeeper and take shots on the goal. If you know that you are going to make runs into the open space, let your team-mates know this. This kind of communication is very important for developing young players into great players.

When training for soccer, teach players to try and aim for the area flanked by the 6 and 18 yard boxes. This will make the goalkeeper come out in an attempt to collect the ball. This will have the effect of making the open and unguarded.

Keep an eye on the ball: Keep an eye on every player’s movement on the field at all times. Coach your players in such a way that they strictly follow the team’s approach and strategy for the day.

So now, start making use of these soccer training tips in your regular training sessions so that they come instinctively to the players when on field. For more such tips and ideas, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community and get access to innumerable articles, videos, and periodic newsletters.

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Soccer training tips.

Let me ask you a simple question. Not following the soccer training tips, most soccer coaches blindly design training programs for their players just to make up the numbers and simply go through the motions. Are you doing the same thing?

Before planning your next training session, set some goals for the team. Ascertain what you specifically wish to achieve from the training session and do everything required to get that done.

Include new, innovative, and exciting soccer drills in the training programs to introduce variety. This will give the players a break from the dullness of performing repetitive drills day in and day out. You’ll see a noticeable improvement in your team’s performance once they start enjoying the training sessions.

Regardless of the level at which they play and their age, your players need to learn to listen to you and give due respect. Mutual appreciation creates a friendly environment for both players and the coach.

Soccer Training

A high level of flexibility greatly benefits every soccer player. It’s been categorized into 3 parts.

Dynamic flexibility: It is the ability to perform energetic movements within the full range of motion in the joint, for example; twisting side to side.

Static active flexibility: It’s the skill to stretch an intricate muscle employing the tension within that muscle. For example; hold one leg as high as possible in front of you. Here, your hamstrings are stretched when your quadriceps and hip flexors hold your leg up.

Static passive: Ability to use your body weight or some outside force to hold a stretch is termed as static passive flexibility. For instance; hold your leg out in front of you and rest it on a chair.

Now let’s go to the next in line of soccer training tips. This calls for a need to examine and ensure that the clothes worn by kids to the field are apt for the weather.

Training for soccer should be followed by a fitness program that focuses only on those areas that need maximum help. When designing this training program, keep the following factors in mind.

Kid’s age: There is a direct connection between decrease in the flexibility of soft tissues and the reduced range of movement, as one grows older, notwithstanding the gender. But, if we remain active, the flexibility will always remain.

Gender: Girls are more flexible regardless of their age.

Motion: It is natural for kids with an active lifestyle to showcase better soccer skills and a greater range of movement that the ones not so active on field.

Injury: Injuries also hinder the range of motion in a joint.

Pain: As the pain increases, flexibility decreases and results in muscle spasms. However, strength training does not hamper flexibility unless you don’t do the exercises correctly and not in full range of motion.

Genetics: A player’s genetics also have an effect on the amount of flexibility that his or her body possesses.

So, there should be no reason why you should not include soccer training tips into your training program for better productivity. You can improve your coaching skills by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community that has tons of articles, newsletters, and relevant videos.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Drills For Kids.

If you’re like me you probably know that soccer training tips for goalkeeper are of immense value since a goalie is the only player on the field who is allowed to touch the ball by both hands and arms.

For this reason, the soccer skills of a goalie give him an advantage over all the other players on the field. But this makes a coach’s job tougher and more complex when training goalkeepers for soccer.

Soccer Goalkeepers are often the first line of the offense and the last line of defense, depending upon the technique of play. They wouldn’t mind using their body in every possible way to stop the ball or obstruct a shot from getting inside the goal. They are all so set to proceed in any direction when it comes to getting the possession of the ball.

When it comes to a goalkeeper’s training for soccer, on various requirements specific to their role and their level of play can be very trying. This also requires you to take into consideration his mental state and train him on various skills accordingly.

Soccer Training

In terms of comparison, only a striker can match the skills and enthusiasm of a goalkeeper. In fact, some of the best goalies have also been great strikers at one point or the other. You’ll be able to encounter frequent one on one battle between the goalie and the forwards at different levels of competition.

In soccer training tips, it’s necessary for a goalkeeper to stay balanced and know the center for gravity of the body. This will improve the activity of the goalie and the state of readiness of the player to make remarkable gains in a game setting.

Though most goalkeepers in soccer are tall with long arms and big hands, but even if otherwise they easily compensate for the need of physical built with good vertical and lateral mobility.

A coach must always remember that though goalkeepers have a good sense of self-worth but even then they need constant motivation. Goalkeepers should perform soccer drills that improve upon their skills specific to their role in the game once they have finished doing regular warm up exercises with the team.

Goalkeepers are the leaders of the team as both their role and their personality is quite dominating. So they should be placed in a voiced and representative capacity so that they can successfully accomplish their duties with the support of all the team members.

The ball can only be handled by the goalie in the 18 yard box. If there is anyone other than the goalie, who gets to touch the ball, the opponent team wins a free kick. It’s a penalty shoot from “the spot” in case of a goalkeepers’ team member.

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and apply the above soccer training tips as goalkeepers are definitely leaders in the 18 yard box, and should get due respect from their team. Subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that has tons of articles, newsletters, and related videos to improve your coaching skills.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.