May 19, 2012

Developing the 3 Types of Soccer Speed

Motor Ability Chart

Over the last decade we have trained over 6000 athletes. And in that time we have seen players take their speed, strength and power to levels that we never thought possible. But occasionally, this just wasn’t enough to win them a starting role. We quickly realized that enhancing a player’s 40yd dash time was not [...]

Technical Work – The Faster the Better

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When it comes to “technical work,” can we be TOO technical?
Interesting question…and in my opinion the answer is “YES!” I understand that foot angle & toe placement when touching the ball is extremely important. But as coaches, we must ask ourselves “how much technique is TOO much?”
The answer lies in the product & end result [...]

Final Stages of ACL Return to Sport

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Last week I put up a post that documents our ACL Return to Sport program and over the last few days I have received emails asking to see some of these activities in action. I videoed a few of the drills from our session last night with 2 girls who are in the final stages [...]

ACL Series: From Reducing the Risk to Return to Confidence

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As spring approaches, and the high school female soccer players return to the field. We though it might be good to review some of the literature regarding ACL injuries and how our program has integrated training progressions that attempt to reduce the risk of this devastating injury. Over the last few days I have put [...]

RESEARCH: Odd Shapped Balls – Reactive Skill Development?

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Last week at the NSCAA National Conference, I picked up a few balls from Corpus Training LLC to start a study on reactive dribbling and quick feet that we plan to start in the Spring of 2012. Last night I began our process, by letting some of our athletes play with the balls in a [...]

A Competetive, College Winter Break Workout

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This week at the SoccerFIT Academy, our college kids came back to kick off their off-season workouts with us. And, in what has become very typical, we spent quite a bit of time reminiscing, evaluating and discussing new ideas and workout philosophies that they have been exposed to while they were away at school. We [...]

FOCUS EXERCISE: Soccer Speed – Running Form Video

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What is Soccer Speed?

I seem to get questions regarding teaching running (sprinting) mechanics (form) to young soccer players every week. Parents and coaches are continuously asking me to work with an athletes sprint form, and they bring up Ronaldo as being a player they would like to emulate. They mention his form and technique, his [...]

Game Speed Camp Video Highlights…

Motor Ability Chart comparison

Over the past few weeks we have been running our Summer 2011 Game Speed Camps at the SoccerFIT Academy. This 4 day camp aligns itself with our philosophy of “bridging the gap” between physical preparedness and the speed of skill execution on the field. Below you see the model for this developmental process as we [...]

Spring 2011: Quick Feet and Ball Skills

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This spring we have quite a few athletes that are brand new to the SoccerFIT program. Unlike years past, this insurgence of young players between the ages of 11-13, did not come to us in an attempt to take their game to the next level; this group, it seems, was just trying to get into [...]

FOCUS EXERCISE: Why do we do single legged exercises?

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Two of the most discussed aspects associated with injury risk reduction during the season are: 1) lower limb symmetry and 2) force absorption qualities. We used a Hop and Stop test of bilateral force production / force absorption, and the results showed a tremendous gain in symmetry in both the hopping and leaping exercises. We [...]