It’s not necessary that you agree, but you should listen to this. The play which requires excessive power, and, or explosive power, Weight training soccer is vital while coaching these players. For player who do not require strength and power that much can also take advantage of strong abdominal and lower back muscles.

Here are the basic principles of weight training for soccer displaying simple activities to describe those principles.

A vital principle in soccer strength training is, Specificity. The concept of this is to coach the players to put more time in working out in a way resembling their play on the field. Take for example running and swimming, a great exercise for runners and swimmers respectively.

In order to enhance strength an essential thing to be stressed upon while exercising is speed. The role of players in team sports, their age, physical and mental capacity to take stress and their player’s level must be considered when coaching them in weight training programs.

All this information is useful for a trainer in designing a fitness training program, to make a good start.

Weight training soccer

For over all physical conditioning you should arrange those exercises which develop specific training. For example: swimmers also run and lift weights to improve their aerobic and strength and power fitness.

Injury prevention is another aspect of weight training soccer that is often overlooked. It is necessary to prevent injury although it is not the direct factor to contribute towards to the play however it enables the players to maintain their fitness in order to perform their best at the special times of the season.

The movements executed in soccer are running, sprinting, turning and twisting, side-stepping, preparing for a goal. The muscle chain that is required in these movements named as the “anterior and posterior chain,” should be exercised to build strength, stability and power.

Hence the core lifts, like squats and deadlifts are essential working out for building these muscles. A comprehensive soccer fitness program giving due stress upon these two core lifts should work miracles for leg, hip, back and abdominal strength.

To concentrate on the shoulders, arms and back muscle areas the program should also include swimming.

Usually strength enhancing programs include heavy weight lifting with few repetitions. Some sports require bulk and strength while some others have to ensure they combine adequate strength with mobility, speed and stamina like a mid-fielder in soccer.

Working on very special muscle groups can also enhance the performance even if primary strength, power or endurance gains are lacking. These include the lower back and hamstrings, and the quadriceps muscles that direct knee joint function.

Now having equipped with knowledge always keep in mind that in weight training soccer doing weights might not give much benefit. You are welcomed to our youth soccer coaching community that has a plethora of informative articles, weekly newsletters, and videos to help you better understand the concepts of youth coaching.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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 Training