Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

Soccer Training Tips: Want To Know How Flexibility Helps?

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Soccer training tips

I’d like to ask you something. Not following the soccer training tips, most soccer coaches blindly design training programs for their players just to make up the numbers and simply go through the motions. Are you guilty of this?

Before planning your next training session, set some goals for the team. Ascertain what you specifically wish to achieve from the training session and do everything required to get that done.

Introduce new, fun, and innovative soccer drills in your training sessions to add variety. It will break the monotony of doing the same drills day in and day out. Once players start enjoying their practice sessions, you’ll notice that their performance will improve consistently.

Notwithstanding their age and the level at which they play, your players must learn to respect you and listen to you. Respecting each other feelings promotes a friendly atmosphere for both the kids as well as 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 refers to a player’s capability to perform fast movements within the full range of motion in the joint, like twisting from side to side.

Static active flexibility: This is the aptitude of a player to stretch a hard muscle by using the tension from within that muscle. Let’s take an example; holding one leg in front of you and keeping it as high as you can. Doing this your hamstring is stretched and as the hip flexors and quadriceps grip your leg up.

Static passive: It’s the skill of using the body weight or some external force to hold a stretch. 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 needs to be supported with a fitness program that will help the areas where your team needs most help. One should keep the following factors in mind while designing such a training program.

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. However, decrease in flexibility can be significantly slowed down if we keep active.

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

Activity: When it comes to displaying soccer skills, active individuals demonstrate a greater range of movement than inactive individuals.

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

Pain: With an increase in pain, flexibility decreases resulting in muscle spasms. Nonetheless, flexibility in kids is not hampered by strength training unless the exercises are done correctly and in full range of motion.

Genetics: A player’s genetics also have an effect on the amount of flexibility that his or her body possesses.

So make sure you incorporate these soccer training tips into your training programs with a view to improve their effectiveness and productivity. 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.

 

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Arsène Wenger – Manager Of Arsenal FC

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

As soon as he joined Arsenal, Arsène Wenger set about transforming the face, not only of the Highbury club, but, indirectly, all of English football.

By ditching the old ways of training and adding special diets to the mix – as well as calling on the services of outside experts, which was unheard of in England at the time – football clubs in England started to rethink. It helped his cause, needless to say, when Arsenal won the League and FA Cup double in only his second season in charge.

Gradually, Wenger was able to change what had been a predominantly cautious Arsenal side into a vibrant attacking force, without losing the ability to defend when necessary.

The greatest achievement of his Premier League career – and widely regarded as one of the most outstanding feats in English football ever – was to go the whole of the 2003/04 campaign without suffering a single defeat.

Arsène Wenger belongs to that tradition of managers who were never great players and therefore took to coaching comparatively early in their lives.

With degrees in both Engineering and Economics, and with fluency in Spanish and German as well as French and English, education was very much a priority for him as a young man and he didn’t become a professional with RC Strasbourg – his home town – until 1978, when he was 29 years old. Even then his first team career spanned just 12 matches – in their title-winning season of 1978/79, which included an UEFA cup match.

There can be few football club managers anywhere in the world who are as identified with their team and their style of play as Arsène Wenger. In a profession in which staying in a post for more than two years should qualify you for a testimonial match, the urbane Frenchman has now been at Arsenal for nearly 13 years.

In any other country – that is one with no Sir Alex Ferguson in it – he would be by far the longest-serving manager. You can buy Arsenal tickets online and see his great team for yourself.

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Adidas World Cup 2010 Jabulani, Its Best-performing Ball Ever

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball

On December 4th, adidas and FIFA officially unveiled the adidas “JABULANI”, the Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball, South Africa.

The World Cup 2010 Ball design features eight panels, an all-new grip ‘n groove profile and bigger sweet spots. The design of the Jabulani has 11 colors to honor those 11 languages of South Africa, in addition to the 11 communities of South Africa and and the 11 players on a team.

The colorful Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball design brings together the tremendous diversity of the country in harmonious unity. Four triangle-shaped design elements on a white background lend the ball a unique appearance in African spirit.

Still, Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball took adidas well over three years of extensive research and development to present the adidas Jabulani, its best-performing ball ever.

 

World Cup 2010 Ball

The 2010 World Cup Ball features a completely new, ground-breaking technology. Eight 3-D spherically formed EVA and TPU panels are moulded together, harmoniously enveloping the inner carcass. The Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball result is an energetic unit combined with perfect roundness. Following the first tests, players all over the world are enthusiastic and are promising many goals with the new Adidas World Cup 2010 Match Ball.

For the best players in the world, FIFA designed a quality concept to guarantee the highest standard of balls. Only after a series of stringent tests is a ball awarded the FIFA-Approved hallmark. Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball tests executed in the adidas football laboratory in Scheinfeld and at the Testing Centre of the University of Loughborough prove the adidas Jabulani does not only meet these FIFA-Approved standards, it exceeds practically each of them.

For the water absorption test, Adidas World Cup 2010 Ball is pressed and rotated in a container of water 250 times, after which the ball will be weighed. The water will also be weighed before and after the water uptake test.

Constructed with eight new thermally bonded, spherically shaped, 3 D EVA and TPU panels, the World Cup 2010 Adidas Ball is perfectly round and has been equipped with a new Grip’n'Groove technology. Grip’n'Groove is a textured treatment that ensures the Jabulani flies straight and true. The World Cup 2010 Adidas Ball is designed for never before seen power, swerve and control. It’s a ball truly worthy of the best in the game.

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Instant Weight Training Soccer Strategies Anyone Can Use

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Weight training soccer

You may not agree, but check this out. You can greatly benefit from weight training soccer when coaching your players in a sport that requires a lot of strength, and, or explosive power. Even players for whom strength and power is not a main attribute tend to benefit from strong abdominal and lower back muscles.

This article explains the basic principles of weight training for soccer using common activities for demonstrating those principles.

During soccer strength training, Specificity is a very important concept. It means that if you can train your players in a way that emulates their activity when playing on the field, then you must spend the majority of your time training in that way. For instance: Runners run and swimmers swim.

With a view to develop power, the speed of the training or exercise is vital. The role of players in team sports, their age, physical and mental capacity to take stress and their player’s level must be considered when coaching them in weight training programs.

Soccer Fitness

While developing a fitness training program, all this information is helpful for a coach to ensure a good start.

In order to develop physical conditioning such activities should be planned which improves specific training. You see workouts like running and weight exercises are also performed by swimmers to enhance their aerobic and strength and power fitness.

One more feature in weight training soccer often ignored is prevention of injury.Another area of weight training soccer which is commonly neglected in is injury prevention. Injury prevention even though not directly contributing to the play, is important as it ensures that the players are fit to play at the most critical times of the year.

Running, sprinting, turning and twisting, side-stepping, and getting ready for a shot are all the exercises performed in soccer. The “anterior and posterior chain,” are the chain of muscles which are required to perform these actions must be given importance to develop strength, stability and power.

So for creating these muscles core lifts, like squats and deadlifts are important exercises. The general soccer fitness program may be used commonly but these two core lifts are very essential for leg, hip, back and abdominal strength.

To concentrate on the shoulders, arms and back muscle areas the program should also include swimming.

Strength programs normally consist of heavy loads and a small number of repetitions. Some sports require bulk and strength while some others have to ensure they combine adequate strength with mobility, speed and stamina like a mid-fielder in soccer.

Working on very special muscle groups can also enhance the performance even if primary strength, power or endurance gains are lacking. Thus the lower back and hamstrings, and the quadriceps muscles that aids the knee joint function are such muscle groups.

So there you have it. Keep these points in mind when weight training soccer since football is a sport for which you may not initially consider weights to be an advantage. You should consider joining our youth soccer coaching society that has a plethora of informative articles, weekly newsletters, and videos to help you better understand the concepts of youth coaching.

 

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 Practice Tips.

 

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The Truth About Weight Training Soccer

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Weight training soccer

How about if you get to learn that weight training soccer targets improving strength instead of just increasing muscle mass, particularly the development of muscle groups that support the joints? It calls for special fitness training sessions off the field and off the ball with a view to segregate and concentrate on certain muscle groups.

Concentrating on these areas will facilitate greater mobility and flexibility leading to an increase in speed and power.

Core: Technically the first area to focus on is the abdominals, commonly known as the core. The area of the body ranging from under the breast bone up till the end of the pelvic region is called the “core”. This area is the source of power, the center of gravity, and the balancing center of the body.

In other words, the core is where all physical actions of the body are initiated from. A strong and a well developed abdominal core also ensures a well-balanced back, especially the Lumbar region. This also generates a good posture.

Soccer Fitness

Legs: The quadriceps are leg muscles which are essential in increasing blood flow to the heart. Hence they are the major muscle groups of the body and provide enormous amount of blood volume. Walking can also be helpful in weight training soccer as each step pumps blood supply to the entire body.

Powerful and stable leg muscles are vital for the hips, knees and the ankles to hips, to bear all the power and energy produced in hitting the ground.

Back, Chest and Neck:The linking relationship between the core and the ends is provided by these parts of the body. Thus these portions should never be ignored in soccer strength training, since they will strengthen with the development of the rest of the body.

Arms: For balancing the body arms are very helpful; example while jumping to head a ball or shifting directions. A powerful jump is made by throwing the arms in the air.

Plyometric: You should combine weight training with well-organized plyometric program for great results. Using this technique such players will be produced who will show good results in the first half of the season.

The key again is going back to the core, because only a well-developed soccer fitness program to develop the core will naturally bring these areas into focus.

Programs: Generally, a program that is quantifiable and specific to an individual needs to be applied at the beginning of the season. The complete development of the player involves targeting specific areas of the body starting with the core and then toward each section of the body.

Finally it should be said that weight training soccer can be useful by first preparing the players; as it requires the players and the team to own the program. You can subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community and find an answer to all questions as the site offers loads of information in form of articles, videos, and newsletters.

 

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: Kids Soccer Drills.

 

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