Soccer Coaching Drills

What if I told you that stretching as a part of soccer training tips is highly recommended by professional soccer coaches and is widely practiced by players in almost every sport? Talking about soccer, it is constantly growing and developing in its difficulty.

In kid’s training for soccer, there are two types of stretching, dynamic and static stretching that are integrated.

Static stretching requires the kids to extend their muscles as far as they can and hold for a given duration of time. When it comes to dynamic stretching, recurring motions, rhythmic bouncing, and rebounding is what the player does. In comparison with static stretching, it is more risky and less useful.

This article discusses some benefits of stretching that go a long way in making a good player great.

Soccer Training

Stretching reduces injuries: Stretching helps bring down the risks of injury when performed over a period of time by stretching the muscles daily, thus promoting their growth. Stretching provides a way of growing the muscle mass and strength as well.

Stretching affects flexibility: Stretching does prevent loss of flexibility. Nevertheless, stretching works best when performed for a greater length of time than for shorter periods of time.

Stretching for some minutes prior to any occasion is liable to improve flexibility. But the best of all soccer training tips is to spread a stretching program over a period of months, leading to a constant increase in range of motion.

Stretching betters’ performance: When the stretching program is planned after considering the player’s soccer specific needs, their performance improves.

Make stretching fun for the kids: You can do this by including a variety of soccer drills into your training regimen. Keep altering the warm up exercises that you do before stretching. Try tag games, ball tag, and keep away.

Concentrate all your energy on stretching, experience and identify with each stretch while checking for soreness.

For almost all players, one single 15-30 minute stretch for each muscle group is sufficient but some may need longer stretches and more repetitions.

This is because when the temperature of muscles is higher than normal, tightness decreases and extensibility increases. Kids who feel like to keep up or enhance their flexibility can realize this goal to some extent by stretching. When their body temperature is higher as against normal, it makes it safer and more productive to stretch.

This is why some coaches tend to make their kids perform stretching exercises after a workout as well. After practicing soccer skills, if kids are made to do some stretching for 5-7 minutes, it’ll prevent their muscles from tightening too fast.

Usually, players who practice an active warm-up ahead of stretching get a superior range of motion than those kids who just stretch. So if injury prevention is your aim, stop stretching before exercise and increase the warm up time.

When feeling stiff or inflexible, the most important soccer training tips is to allow kids to warm up sufficiently, as doing stretches would not help them become flexible, and will become boring and futile. Join our youth soccer coaching community and enhance your knowledge about soccer through loads of articles, videos, and podcasts available there.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Youth Soccer Drills.

If you’re like me you probably know that soccer training tips for goalkeeper are of immense value since a goalie is the only player on the field who is allowed to touch the ball by both hands and arms.

Therefore, it’s the soccer skills of a goalie that set him apart in a better position, in comparison to others. But this makes a soccer coach’s job quite challenging when it comes to coaching goalkeepers.

Based on the method of play in soccer, goalkeepers are the first line of offense and last line of defense. They’re always ready to employ their body to stop the ball from entering the goal or to block it. They are all so set to proceed in any direction when it comes to getting the possession of the ball.

Goalkeepers training for soccer on various techniques specific to their role and the level of their play can be extremely demanding. You must also keep in mind, his mental state when you are training him/ her on all important skills and techniques.

Soccer Training

The only player in the team who can match the vigor of a goalkeeper is the striker. In reality, many goalkeepers have already been great strikers at some point in their careers. You’ll often see a goalie and the forwards in a direct battle at different levels of competition.

Of all the soccer training tips, the one essential for the goalie to follow is that he should stay balanced and be aware of the center of gravity of the body. This will improve the activity of the goalie and the state of readiness of the player to make remarkable gains in a game setting.

Though most goalkeepers in soccer are tall with long arms and big hands, but even if otherwise they easily compensate for the need of physical built with good vertical and lateral mobility.

A coach must always remember that though goalkeepers have a good sense of self-worth but even then they need constant motivation. After the goalkeepers have done their routine warm up rounds with the team, they should then focus on performing soccer drills meant for their specific role in the team.

Goalkeepers have a dominant personality and in that sense they are also the leaders of the teams. So they should be placed in a voiced and representative capacity so that they can successfully accomplish their duties with the support of all the team members.

The goalie can handle the ball only in the 18 yard box. Anyone other that a goalie who fatefully gets to touch the ball with an arm, ends up winning the opponent a free kick. In the case of the goalie’s team member, it is a penalty shoot from “the spot”.

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and apply the above soccer training tips as goalkeepers are definitely leaders in the 18 yard box, and should get due respect from their team. Subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that has tons of articles, newsletters, and related videos to improve your coaching skills.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.

Let me ask you a simple question. Many soccer coaches design their player’s training programs without considering the soccer training tips only to go through the motions and make up the numbers. Do you fall in the same category?

Before you design your next training programs, make sure you set some specific goals for your team. Determine in advance what you wish to achieve form this program and do whatever it takes to accomplish that.

Include new, innovative, and exciting soccer drills in the training programs to introduce variety. It will break the monotony of doing the same drills day in and day out. Once the kids enjoy participating in the training sessions, their performance will improve drastically.

Make your players learn to respect you and listen to you, irrespective of their age or the level at which they play. Valuing each other’s opinions and feelings creates a healthy environment for both players and the coach.

Soccer Training

Soccer players get an edge over others when they are highly flexible. The same is classified into 3 parts.

Dynamic flexibility: It is the ability to perform energetic movements within the full range of motion in the joint, for example; twisting side to side.

Static active flexibility: It’s the skill to stretch an intricate muscle employing the tension within that muscle. For example; hold one leg as high as possible in front of you. When you do this, your hamstrings are stretched whilst the quadriceps and hip flexors hold your leg up.

Static passive: It is the ability to hold a stretch using your body weight or some other external force. For instance; hold your leg out in front of you and rest it on a chair.

Let’s now move on to the next step in following soccer training tips. It requires you to check that kids are wearing an appropriate gear, depending on the weather conditions.

Training for soccer and a fitness program should go hand in hand with a view to work upon those areas that need most help. When designing this training program, keep the following factors in mind.

Kid’s age: There is a direct connection between decrease in the flexibility of soft tissues and the reduced range of movement, as one grows older, notwithstanding the gender. Still, the chances of flexibility getting decreased are very less if we remain active.

Gender: Girls show greater movement, no matter what their age.

Movement: In demonstrating soccer skills, active kids show a better range of movement that the inactive kids.

Injury: Injuries also get in the way the range of motion in a joint.

Pain: Flexibility decreases as pain increases, resulting in muscle spasms. On the other hand, strength training does not affect flexibility if you are doing the exercises correctly and in full range of motion.

Genetics: The amount of flexibility that a player possesses also depends upon his genetics.

Therefore, soccer training tips like these should always be a part of the training program that makes it more useful and effective. Subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that has tons of articles, newsletters, and related videos to improve your coaching skills.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Drills For Kids.