If an athlete gets hurt, they can’t play in front of the college coaches and will never be seen. If an athlete is wasting time with the wrong training methods, when given the opportunity, they will not perform to or above their potential. There are many resources on soccer training of various kinds. Books and DVDs galore on soccer skills and tactical training and more than a handful on athletics for the beautiful game. While there are certainly some good resources on the skills and tactics side, I can’t say I’m very impressed with what’s out there for the athletic development side and believe me, I’ve seen a lot! In fact, the best track and field product for soccer I’ve ever seen was the former series of speed training tapes from Ajax (the most popular soccer club in the Netherlands). They did a great job of differentiating between the different types of speed related to soccer. The images of former superstars like Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Berkamp, ​​Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars, Nwanko Kanu, and Clarence Seedorf were amazing to watch. The physical speed, technical acuity and motivation in each exercise they displayed was incredible. His strength training methods are outdated by today’s standards, as they used a lot of isolation and machine training, but it was a great video nonetheless.

Old School Ajax, one of the most athletic teams in history

If you are a soccer player, coach or coach looking to improve your individual or team performance, you are in the right place. The following are 5 of the most common mistakes that I see in the preparation of a soccer player.

1. Soccer players don’t play enough in small spaces

I know that we have all heard about how South Americans play street soccer and there is something to learn there. When I was 15 years old, I started playing impromptu and small group soccer (1v1 included) as much as I could and before long my performance skyrocketed. It’s simple: as your skills continue to improve after so much time on the ball in game situations and you get used to being in certain “soccer dynamics” (protecting the ball, finding a free player under pressure, etc.), those improvements will carry over to games and magically, suddenly you’ll be a better soccer player.

2. Soccer players don’t work enough on their specific skills

Shooting, passing, dribbling and individual defense take time to perfect. Europeans spend hours passing with the right weight, at the right angle and with the right foot. Outside players spend hours perfecting their ball service into the box. The forwards shoot and the defenders work to make their long balls look like a laser beam. On English Premier League television they make it look easy because they put the time when the cameras are off. I’m sorry, but twice a week at club practice won’t be enough. You need representatives.

3. Footballers are weak

There are definitely some soccer players that are strong (they are usually the fastest on the field), but for the most part, soccer players are too weak. How does the force help? Well, strength is the foundation on which all other athletic attributes are built. Strength is closely related to power, as the stronger you are, the faster you can move a major load like your body.

From famed sports scientist and powerlifting champion Dr. Fred Hatfield:

Elite athletes develop the ability to generate maximum tension in less than three-quarters of a second, perhaps even half a second. That’s one of the factors that makes them so great. They are able to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate maximum voltage.”

Hopefully you realize the importance of getting stronger so that you can generate a lot of force. So it’s all about getting good at developing that strength in a short period of time specific to the movements of your sport. But if you never have the strength or strength to start, you’ll be pissing in the wind!

Another benefit of strength training is that it will also improve your body’s resistance to injury and your ability to recover.

4. Bad ankles, knees and hips

Too many players rely on touching their ankle. Unless you’re coming back from an ankle injury, it might be a good idea to throw away the anklet or tape. Your ankle is designed to be mobile and if you take it off by restricting it there, you will have to compensate by finding mobility in the knee. Last I checked, your knee is designed to twist, so it’s not good when you increase the chances of your knee twisting and bending in other ways.

Lift weights and strengthen your glutes and hamstrings (hip thrusts, glute curls, good mornings and RDL variations, back extensions done right, etc.) Do some barefoot work or get the five finger vibram. Finally, do some dynamic movements to improve your stability, balance, proprioception, and foot quickness simultaneously. Low grade plyos work great when you are hopping on one leg in different directions.

5. No recovery work

It always amazes me how many soccer players don’t know that the positive things that come with training hard happen when you’re not training. You basically damage your body while training, then rest to come back better. Rest is when your body repairs the damage and in an attempt to better handle the stress that it knows is coming in the near future, it compensates.

Foam roll the quadriceps, calves, groin and adductors, tensor fascia latae, and ITBand. Do mobility exercises before each training session and stretch after training to reduce recovery time and restore tissue length.

Getting enough sleep in the right environment, eating right, static or dynamic stretching, ice, foam rolling, massage, naps, and contrast therapy if you have a tolerance for pain are all great tools. Don’t let them pass! They are an integral part of your entire development!