Soccer Training: Enhance Skills and Physical Fitness

Posted on Mar 4, 2025 in Physical Education

Developing Expressive Qualities of the Body

1) Understanding and Developing Body Awareness:

  • Develop a working knowledge of our corporeality (body awareness).
  • Enhance the development of our social relations and creativity.
  • Improve skills with geometric figures, mirrors, imaginary objects, imitation, statues, slow motion, changes of pace, controlled and uncontrolled falls, greetings, facial expressions, and sounds.

Key Physical Attributes for Soccer

2) Essential Physical Qualities:

  • Resistance: Needed to endure an entire match with continuous running.
  • Flexibility: Crucial for injury prevention and improving player technique.
  • Strength: Necessary for powerful ball striking.
  • Psychomotor Reflexes: Especially important for goalkeepers to react quickly to the ball.
  • Psychological Stability: To handle the pressure associated with soccer.

Understanding Aerobic Activity

3) Aerobic Training Parameters:

  • Aerobic activity is defined as any activity sustained for at least 3 minutes.
  • The activity zone is the range of heartbeats within which an activity is considered aerobic.
  • Balance between oxygen needs and supply.
  • Example Calculation:
    • Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) for men: 220 – age (15) = 205
    • Target Heart Rate Zone: 60% to 85% of MHR
    • 60% of 205 = 123 beats per minute
    • 85% of 205 = 174 beats per minute
    • Therefore, the target heart rate zone for this example is between 123 and 174 beats per minute.

Soccer Training Exercises

Exercise 1: Squat Challenge

Two pairs of players squat, attempting to unbalance their partner using only the palms of their hands (without causing harm).

Purpose: To exercise the lower body and build muscle strength.

Exercise 2: Medicine Ball Toss (Against Wall)

Two pairs of players (each pair with a medicine ball) stand next to each other. Within each pair, one player stands in front of the other.

The front player throws the ball against the wall and quickly moves behind the other player. The second player then quickly catches the ball before it hits the floor. Repeat this exercise several times in succession.

Purpose: To improve power in the arms and back.

Exercise 3: Jumps and Sprint

Place a bench; the four players line up one behind the other. Players jump with feet together from one side of the bench to the other (three jumps). After the last jump, sprint to a cone placed 4 meters from the bench. Circle the cone and return to the starting point on the right side.

Purpose: To improve leg strength, resilience, and speed.

Exercise 4: Wheelbarrow

One partner lies on the floor, and the other grabs their ankles. The player on the floor stretches out and moves as quickly as possible (like a wheelbarrow), navigating around cones and then returning.

Purpose: To improve the power of arms and back, enhance balance, and improve coordination of movement.

Exercise 5: Piggyback

Players take turns carrying a partner on their back, moving from one ring to another. The rings are placed in a square shape. Change partners every two laps.

Purpose: To improve lower body strength.

Exercise 6: Hanging Leg Raises

Hang from a trellis at a certain height and let yourself sink. Then, raise your knees to chest height, maintaining a 90-degree angle between your knees and trunk for 10 seconds. Relax for 5 seconds and repeat.

Purpose: To exercise the abdominal muscles through prolonged exertion.