Power does not play a major role in soccer success, so players should focus their efforts on increasing their speed and agility. Training can greatly improve a player's speed and agility, whether it is through drills on the field or hard work doing resistance training. Players will have to put in time and sweat to get better but will notice rewards on the pitch.
Speed
Soccer requires a player to start and stop from many awkward positions. Soccer speed and agility training should focus on more than basic sprints. According to Elitesoccerconditioning.com, soccer speed is not straight-ahead speed. It is the ability to accelerate. Drills should encompass running bow-shaped curves or diagonal lines, for example, and they should not always start with both feet next to each other on the ground. The site recommends starting some sprints standing backwards or immediately after getting up from the ground.
Agility
Exercises to improve agility tend to be easier on the body than speed drills. Players should use agility drills to improve footwork and other details instead of building stamina and strength. According to the Sports Fitness Advisor, soccer players avoid physical exhaustion when doing agility drills because proper form is the key. The emphasis is to perform footwork perfectly, not quickly. Players can do agility drills on a daily basis, the site states, as the drills themselves focus on footwork and are not physically exhausting.
Weight Training
Stronger muscles provide more explosion, and explosive legs create better speed. According to NLP Bodybuilding, the goal of weight training in soccer should not be to add pounds of muscle mass. Instead, players should build muscles that are strong and fast with endurance. The site states that strong legs are fast legs, so players need to make weight training part of their speed routine.
Frequency
A player can work on agility drills on a daily basis because agility drills do not fatigue the muscles. Any time is an appropriate time to work on agility drills. Speed training taxes the body much more and requires an athlete to take occasional breaks. A common rule of thumb is to have one day of rest for every two days of hard work during speed training. Players risk injury by overworking muscles during speed training.
Benefits
Soccer features multiple situations where two players sprint for a loose ball. Speed training can give a player that little extra speed that will enable him to track down balls he didn't used to get. And on defense, players with better speed can catch up with opponents to prevent open shots for the opposition. Improved agility enables players to make nifty moves that ditch opponents, and that will create more open space. Players with open space stand a much better chance of scoring goals or making assists because they have more time to perfect their shot or pass.
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