Inside Tactics - Developing Speed In Your Soccer Players
Over the past few weeks we've been growing our memebership base incredibly with more and more coaches enjoying and learning from the pages within Junior Soccer Coach. One topic that has been topical is how to do speed training with your players. This weeks tip is based on some dos and don'ts about speed training with your players and there is a free drill too. We have a number of articles and drills that are being published this week, specifically based around how to improve your players speed... but here are your dos and don'ts Speed Training - Dos
- Do your speed training with the players immediately after the warm up
- Vary the length of the sprints, between 5 and 20 yards
- Introduce turns and changes of direction in to sprint work
- Work on the mechanics of sprinting (if you don't know what the elements, this is one of the articles this week!)
- Do sprint work with and without the ball
- Introduce competition 1v1 and team based relay races
- Vary the sessions and keep them fun
- Remember to allow rest periods and give the players plenty of opportunity for fluid breaks
Speed Training - Don'ts
- Undertake speed training without having core strength
- For junior and youth players don't exceed 20 yards
- Overtrain the players with speed
- Train when players are tired; or
- At less than 100%
OK, there are some do's and don'ts about speed training, over the next week we have a series of articles and drills being published that talk specifically about some of the sport science around speed work, the various stages of sprinting, how to develop your players speed and drills to take onto the training field.
So if you want to make your players quicker, you really do need to tune in! But for now here is one drill that aids players speed and also switches them on mentally too (by the way in one of the articles we explain why the first couple of yards are in your players head and how to get them out of there and onto the pitch!)Thats your tip for this week, Good luck in this weekends games... Best wishes Neil
Against The Clock Soccer DrillAIM This drill helps you players respond quicker, improves reaction time and keeps them bright and alert. Mark out a circle with 12 points around it just like a clock. At 12, 3, 6 & 9 place blue cones and at every other time marking in between e.g. 1 & 2, 4 & 5 use different colour cones. Group the players on the blue cones and explain that their particular blue cone represents 12 o'clock so the opposite blue cone they are facing represents 6 o'clock. Do a few test times for the players to fully understand. Ask them all to point to 5 o'clock, 10 o'clock etc. No group should be pointing at the same cone. With every knowing where they are, you then call out a number that the players must sprint around and then back to their starting position which is 12 o'clock. The diameter of the clock should be appropriate for the age and ability of your players, for example you could set up the clock approximately 15 yards wide for players around 10 years of age. Adjust the width of the clock to suit your players and make sure they can get up to full speed. EQUIPMENT An area approximately 20 yards x 20 yards, 8 to 20 players in groups of four, 12 cones, four balls
COACHING POINTS
- Player on their toes anticipating call
- Running form
- Alertness to listen to call from coach
- Head up not running into each other
PROGRESSION
- Introduce a ball
- Call various times to have many players in the clock at any time
- Last player to make it back to the starting position has to do 5 press ups (or something approriate for their age!)
Against The Clock Soccer Speed Drill
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