If you have been to a youth soccer practice (and maybe even a high school practice or two), you have probably seen this scenario….
The coach brings all the players in and then says…”Okay, run a lap!” or…perhaps the team is being punished for something and the coach yell “NOT GOOD ENOUGH – TAKE A LAP!!”
Have you ever thought about why this is the soccer standard for 1) Conditioning 2) Punishment ?
Soccer is not cross country. Yes, there is running. And yes, there is a considerable amount of running. But it’s not all in one direction and it’s never consistently the same pace. There is a little bit of walking or standing….followed by some jogging and then a sprint or two and then some more jogging and some more walking or standing. So it’s time to change the “conditioning/warm-up/punishment” methods in soccer.
Shouldn’t coaches include the soccer ball? Couldn’t coaches develop exercises and games that 1) teach the game of soccer and 2) get players in shape? Yes! Absolutely they can and should.
Our training sessions are designed to help with Soccer AND conditioning. It’s the best way to do both…playing the game is all they need.