Bands versus Weight Training for Explosiveness in Soccer
Can bands replace weight training? I wouldn’t look at it that way, both have their place and are effective tools. Weight training is a great way to improve strength and power, but bands offer an alternative way to train movements with speeds closer to what we encounter on the pitch. With weights, you can measure exactly how much load is being used, while bands are a bit harder to quantify. Weights are generally loading against gravity, while bands can be used to load horizontally. In a sport like soccer, this is huge since we must stop and go frequently and the direction of force is horizontal.
5 Stealth Ninja Assassin Movements To Score More Soccer Goals
I’m pretty sure Cruyff knew that what a player does in those 3 minutes with the ball is very important (i.e. missing easy chances versus finishing them or hitting accurate passes versus giving the ball away), but he was probably trying to make a point about the underrated importance of intelligent behavior off the ball.
When it comes to effective off-ball behavior, physical speed and sheer effort are important but being clever with your positioning and movement to create and maximize space is where we turn our focus. The following 5 behaviors will help you receive more passes, create more chances, and become a more dangerous attacking player overall.
The Savage Gringo: Perspectives On the Game From A SoCal Youth Soccer Player
Soccer gives me a high and releases tension like nothing else in life. My problems and worries from my outside life seem to vanish when I'm on the pitch. I can be my true self and also test myself to see if I really have what it takes. In life, I often feel like the underdog and it's no different on the pitch. I enjoy this aspect though because I can come into the game with something to prove. How I train, eat, sleep, go out with friends - everything in my life is centered around performing my best on the field.
The Benefits and Limitations of Massage for Soccer Players
The rapid stops and starts involved in soccer place a high demand on our soft tissues and many players experience tight and stiff muscles (recall that the sensation of stiffness beyond what it should be could also be related to nutrition). This tightening of the fascial system due to trauma is a protective mechanism that can arise from either micro-trauma over time or acute injuries such as a contusion or strain. Remember, if the fascial components lose their pliability they become restricted and are a source of tension for the rest of the body. This becomes evident at the cellular level as well as mechanically within the collagen in which the ground substance solidifies. When the collagen develops cross-links that are fibrous and dense, the elastin loses its resiliency which causes disruption in the extracellular matrix leading to inflammation and pain. The tight areas of fascia are often referred to as trigger points, knots, adhesions, and scar tissue. There aren't actually knots in the muscle, but mal-alignment of tissue due to trauma and injury, poor motor patterns, and psychological stress. These restrictions in tissue cause inefficient movement patterns, screw with joint function, and contractile tissues to work much harder to attain the ranges of motion needed in soccer.
5 Surefire Ways To Annoy Your Soccer Coach
The dynamic warm up and injury prevention exercises only require 70% effort. That passing exercise before possession doesn’t require your full focus and attention. Just run kinda hard and speed up the time between your touches a little bit more when your coach asks for game speed. No. No. And no. A good coach should know when to tailor training for more relaxed efforts and will tell you. Otherwise, players should be switched on, especially at the start of a training session. Unless you are learning a brand-new skill where slowing down is important, training should involve speeds and pressures similar to what we encounter in a match. Even that passing exercise you’ve done 10 million times.
Soccer Performance Through a Holistic Lens: Interview with Erica Suter
Deadlifts are the movement I call the "ACL reduction powerhouse." They are so great for not just the hamstrings and glutes, but the entirety of the trunk, and ensuring it has the stability, as well strength to handle high amounts load so the lower extremity joints are also stable (knee and ankles). I am also a huge fan of Single Leg RDLs, Pistol Squats, and Lunge variations for single-leg strength as well as trunk stability.
Why Do Some Soccer Players Have Valgus Collapse (aka X Legs) and Some Ways To Fix It
I’m obsessed with how people and soccer players move 👣.
If you look at the top players in the world there is a durability to them. It’s hard to improve if you’re always injured. I wouldn’t know nothing about that 👀.
Yeah a lot of it comes down to favorable genetics or playing barefoot as a kid, but we must take control of what we can and it’s never too late for an upgrade.
Knee Pain from Playing Soccer? Get some quick relief
Playing soccer giving you knee pain? Is it pain on the outside of your knee? Been there, done that, still dealing with that.
Why one gets lateral knee pain can come from a multitude of factors - could be one wrong step, excess body weight or fat, playing on rock solid shitty turf, faulty movement patterns, lack of hip internal rotation and/or crap ankle mobility (videos on that soon), too much of the same movement pattern, etc. and likely a combination of a few.
This article is not the complete solution to a complex problem, but a quick routine and some ideas that should bring your knees some relief.
With lateral knee pain there is often tightness along that side of the body that seems to create compression forces in the knee leading to some grumpy menisici. I mean it was even proven in at least one scientific study by Bozkurt et al., 2004 called The Influence of Lateral Tightness on Lateral Knee Pain
Sh*t Soccer Girls Say: An Interview with SoccerGrlProbs
Carly Beyar, Alanna Locast and Shannon Fay from Soccergrlprobs are blowing up on Instagram with their hilarious posts and empowering content (I mean, their tagline is “Empowering Ladyballers, Daily”). They are former Division 1 College Soccer teammates, and they know what it takes to succeed in soccer and those same characteristics of hard work, passion, and teamwork are paying off for them as they continue to grow. They were cool enough to answer some questions below.
Develop Soccer Speed by Training the Often Neglected Hip Flexors
Soccer players around the world are starting to understand the value of strength training for injury prevention and improving their performance. Everyone seems to be doing some sort of squat, whether it is on one leg or two, and some hamstring work such as Nordics. However, one of the most important muscles to train for soccer players who want to reduce the risk of injuries and run faster are the hip flexors.
A Powerful Way To Prevent Muscle Injuries in Soccer
Getting injured sucks. For many soccer players it seems as if life consists of being sidelined with one injury, returning to play, and shortly thereafter picking up another injury. What can we do to prevent soccer players from getting injured so often?
That is a complicated question that comes down to several factors. Genetics, biomechanics from pre-natal development/inherited structure, lifestyle factors such as narrow shoes or prolonged sitting, hydration status, training volume, weakness, tightness, etc. While I will cover all of those in the book The Ultimate Soccer Body, in this post I go over a two principles and one powerful stretch that incorporates them to give you a huge bang for your buck.
Should Soccer Players Try To Get Bigger Muscles Like Leon Goretza?
While Goretzka looks like he packed on pure muscle, Coutinho looks (especially in the face) like he put on some muscle and some body fat. Nonetheless, he still moved very well and performed on the pitch in the games he came on. I doubt he put on more than 5-10lbs or 2-5kg and for a small guy with low center of gravity who is already explosive and has amazing command of the ball and his body, it is not much. I do wonder had he not come on as a substitute and played the full match how well he would have lasted since carrying around more weight is less efficient.
How To Last The Full 90 Minutes of a Soccer Game Without Getting Tired
Well known throughout coaching circles and backed by studies, most goals are scored or conceded towards the end of each half. This is especially true towards the end of the game from the 75th minute onwards. That is when players are most fatigued, tactics change abruptly, and chaos ensues. In the chart below we see from arguably the top 5 leagues in the world from 2017/2018 season, most goals were scored in the last 15 minutes of play with Spain’s La Liga having the highest number of goals scored in the last 15 minutes (24.4%).
Moving Meditation for Soccer Performance: 4 Simple Techniques
Sometimes caring a lot about playing well in our upcoming soccer game can lead to worse performance if we don’t find a way to stay calm and relaxed. Mental tightness in the form of fear and anxiety can lead to increased injuries and cause us to move with less efficiency on the field. In turn, we end up not playing as well, wasting energy, and the paradox of wanting something (good performance) causing us to not get it prevails.
Thierry Henry Never Lifted Weights But You Should: Strength and Conditioning For Footballer Soccer Players
Living in Europe for the last two years has dispelled any misconceptions I had or had heard about European professional soccer players not engage in weight training and strength and conditioning. They definitely do and even use some Olympic weight-lifting. However, depending on the trainer, it can go from circus acts using bosu balls, heavy emphasis on back squats and deadlifting (rare as soccer players do not typically like heavy loads on their spine), to things in between. I used to be a big proponent of heavy ass-to-grass back squats and deadlifts, but I have learned the hard way that the cost (back injury) is high and there are smarter and better ways to load the legs.
What Pro Soccer Players Do That You (Probably) Don't
The best soccer players in the world are masters at creating space. Using a good first touch is one way, but creating space off the ball is one of the most important, yet neglected aspects of being a great player.
A Love Letter To The Game of Soccer
Below you will find a love letter written by one of my childhood and best friends, Itzik Rapaport. It is a love letter to the game of soccer. He runs a soccer league in Los Angeles called Directkix, and also hosts Sunday afternoon/evening pick up games for youth players at Calabasas High School where kids can play with no coaches, parents, or anyone telling them what to do. . Pick up, the secret method of development that worked wonders for Zinedine Zidane, Maradona, and countless other amazing soccer players throughout the generations. We need more of it.
Is Jogging or Running Cross-Country Good Training For Soccer Players?
Become a More Dangerous Soccer Player with Better Off-Ball Behavior
In this short article I will discuss some basic principles that top soccer players do to make an impact on the game. I recently watched 5 international level soccer games where I had the task of writing down every time a player makes a deep run to get behind the defense, or a sudden change of direction to get open for a pass. I am observing a lot of key attacking moments happen around both actions. When a player makes a hard run into space, the defense always seems to get disturbed, if not very annoyed. Sudden changes of direction are also difficult to follow and using the art of misdirection is a great way to get open. Watching Spain’s and Valencia’s striker, Rodrigo, it was incredible how often he makes deep runs and changes direction quickly. Why would he do this?