MAXIMUM SPORTS CONDITIONING
SOCCER TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
Maximum’s philosophy on training soccer players stems from the sport-specific actions they need to build, and the tools that college coaches and professional scouts use to judge the ability and potential of goalies, defenders, midfielders & forwards.
These are:
- Ability to receive & touch
- Ability to change directions quickly
- Ability to pass (crossing, range, accuracy)
- Ability to accelerate and decelerate quickly
- Ability to see the field (awareness)
- Ability to move the feet quickly and under control
- Ability to jump
Based on these skills, soccer players must develop joint stability, balance, and connective tissue strength through the ankle, knee, back and shoulders (to support and stabilize explosive jumping, sprinting, changing direction and decelerating), posterior chain strength and power (to develop strength through glutes, hips, and legs for jumping ability and speed), reactive ability, quickness, endurance, and lateral speed (for first-step quickness and defensive ability), and core strength (to stabilize lower lumber spine, and to aid in control of large motor movements)
Although each position has its unique demands, all soccer players must improve these essential basic motor abilities. A soccer player’s ability to run is most often judged by his/her times on a 40 yard sprint. His/her ability to change directions quickly is most often judged by his/her time in a 20 yard shuttle.
