There are quite a number of exercises that can be employed during soccer training. Some of the most common workouts incorporated by most soccer players include conditioning exercises, dribbling and warm-up drills.

Soccer Exercises – Common Conditioning Workout Routines

One of the widely held soccer exercises used to condition the body is the step-jump drill, which needs to be accomplished at the beginning of the training session but only when a thorough warm up has been performed. This begins by standing beside any soft object, bringing the knees up and then jumping off the ground over the marker in vertical and lateral movement. After this, the person lands on both feet with a minimal ground contact time and he or she then jumps back to the next direction. Three sets of the exercise are then repeated for about half a minute. The other effective conditioning soccer exercises are the killer shuttle and spared two-vs.-two drills. The latter is simple yet excruciating, while the former tends to be physically demanding yet strategic.

Soccer Dribbling Drills – Basic Tips and Guidelines

The ability to dribble is just one of the key skills that soccer players need to possess since this allows them to easily control the ball, which in turn help them to direct it anywhere without difficulty. In order to acquire this very essential skill, extensive soccer dribbling drills have to be carried out. Some of the essential tips in performing these drills effectively include using all of the bits of the feet; especially the interior parts, so that it can be easily switched to various areas during dribbling. Furthermore, it is also highly recommended in performing soccer dribbling drills that the ball is constantly maintained at a particular distance from the foot such as keeping it slightly more than a meter so that the usual game situation can be simulated.

Soccer Warm Up Drills – Sample Exercise

Incorporating different soccer warm up drills prior to any training is very essential in decreasing the possibility of injury as well as in increasing the players’ agility, power, skill and overall performance. Aside from that, warm ups also help them to prepare mentally and keep their focus on the session at hand. One of the most common soccer warm up drills that can be tried during the training is the one that simply begins by having the soccer team gather and then letting them make a circle approximately 20 yards in diameter. This is followed by instructing them to be at arms-width apart, where a cone is then placed at the circle’s center part. The players are then instructed to jog-in together toward the cone and then backward toward the circle’s outer edge. The runs performed toward the center are then kept in variation by making use of different running techniques such as heel flicks, high knees, lunge strides, side-stepping, and one-leg hops which are performed at light intensity.