Posts Tagged: football training

Due to the fact that top professional footballers are worth so much money to their club and the high wages that they are paid; most of them are banned from undertaking extreme sports. The chances of injury are simply too high, meaning that the clubs are unable to insure their players when participating in these kinds of activities. Even with this in mind there has still been a move in recent years to use the mountain bike in the world of professional football. Here we look at the reasoning behind this move.

Aiding recovery

The use of the mountain bike was first incorporate into the world of professional football as a way of assisting players as they recovered from injuries. Whilst clubs didn’t permit their players to take the sport to the extreme and take any risks; they did realise that the activity had some benefits in the recovery process. Clubs found that cycling is a great way for their players to rebuild muscle tissue in their legs without having to subject the body to activities that cause impact, such as jogging. In the past swimming had been the preferred sport for this stage of rehabilitation, but clubs now began using both in unison to build muscle and improve joint movement.

A preventative measure

The next step of the role of the mountain bike in football was to help prevent players from sustaining injuries in the first place. During the days building up to an important match clubs always fear that their key players will pick up an injury. Through using bikes as a way of maintaining player’s fitness, clubs removed the chances of them picking up impact injuries and twisted joints.

Targeted performance

The use of the mountain bike was then developed further by fitness coaches as they realised that they offered a risk free way of recreating the training that is required for footballers to reach peak physical fitness. Rather than instructing players to do shuttle runs and short sprints to develop short burst stamina; intensive bursts on the mountain bike became more common. This enabled players to build all levels of required fitness, without risking their body.

I can’t say about you but for sure there are many coaches who still struggle a lot to find effective Free soccer drills for their players. What it conveys is that coaches actually look for drills that the kids can perform all alone.

Using soccer drills that don’t need any equipment are a great way to kick start the training sessions. Apart from that , these soccer exercises are designed to suit the player’s age, learning potential, and the role he plays for the team.

The one drill that must be taught to all the players is to dribble the ball and at the same time be aware of what is going on around. This drill has been successfully used by many coaches, and I can guarantee that it is so much superior than getting your players to dribble through cones.

Sure that that this drill demands more involvement from players but it makes sure of it in soccer practice.

I’ll definitely guide you through this.

To begin with, mark a square of about 20 yards by 20 yards. The size of this square will vary depending on the number of players, and their age.

One should position the players evenly alongside the square. All the players should face inwards and every player should have a ball of their own.

Free soccer drills

When the whistle is blown, each player should dribble the ball to the opposite side and stop on it. Of all the free soccer drills, this drill coaches the players to dribble across the square with their heads up and and do not interfere in each others’ path and thats why this is effective.

This drill adds more fun when the players are asked to dribble across the square and back again making them to turn 180 degrees with the ball. Keep varying the number of times players have to dribble across the square. This drill is a progression of many such runs and a player is eliminated for every run and this is continued until only one player is left.

Also, as the number of players decrease, feel free to introduce the concept of running with the ball rather than dribbling the ball.

Coaching the kids of the vital techniques of ball dribbling is truly a great fun. Some tough and light drills are added in the soccer training programs to make the event interesting. And it is okay if some are not directly related to soccer and are only meant to have fun.

It is important in soccer coaching that kids shouldn’t do too much of anything.

Trust me when I say this, When you start applying these free soccer drills in your training programs , you will see for yourself how quickly the kids can learn the essentials of the game.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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 training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Drills For Kids