With the World Cup approaching, there's a lot of discussions in the media on how the different teams are preparing for the tournament. And when it comes to improving soccer fitness, and especially soccer conditioning, there are some different schools of thought.
On one side you have those who say that in order to improve your soccer fitness and soccer conditioning, you need to play the game of soccer, not just run for the sake of running.
Youth Fitness And Exercise
On the other side, you have those who believe in running everywhere from 300 meter to 3 km, primarily without the ball.
I tend to be on both sides of this discussion, and let me explain what I mean by that.
Play Soccer to Get Fit
According to several studies, the most covered distance on a soccer field is 10-30 meters before a player have to change direction or change a type of movement. So that means that every 4-5 seconds a player changes a type of movement (from sprinting to walking, jumping, back pedaling, etc).
So what happens when you only perform linear runs without a ball (200 meter +), and then get out on the soccer field and perform let's say a change of direction at least every 5-10 seconds?
A whole other type of fatigue occurs. Try to run 200 meter straight, and then perform a 200 meter shuttle (which involves change of direction) to see what I mean. Running with change of direction throughout the course of the run is way more difficult then just running straight ahead.
This is one of the reasons I believe in "playing to get fit", since that prepares the players for the actual game with all of its different movements.
But probably the biggest reason I believe in this method of training is because what happens to the players at the end of a game, when they are getting tired both physically and mentally.
A lot of us can keep pushing ourselves when running suicides or 200 meter shuttles, but what happens at the end of the game, when you have the soccer ball at your feet?
Not only do you have to have the strength and power to make a decent play, you also have to "be fresh" in your head, and your concentration needs to be high. And what happens when you get tired?
It's more difficult to make good decisions.
That's why you see (in general), more passes and shots being missed at the end of a game. It's easy to be on the side and complain when a player misses "a simple" pass at the end of the game. But if you play yourself, you know why this occurs, and it is because of the fact that your head is not in the game, your mental status and concentration is decreasing, and it's getting more and more difficult to make good decisions.
This is where "playing soccer to get fit" really beats the other side of thought if you ask me. If you condition your players in different types of soccer games, they'll then learn to keep the quality high even during the last period of a game, and they learn to handle that fatigue.
So why would you ever want to train the players soccer fitness or soccer conditioning without the ball?
Primarily because not all players at all levels can keep a high enough pace in order to work on their conditioning with the ball. The reason for that is because not all players possess the technique required for certain drills.
An example of that is technique and dribbling drills/tracks, where they have to dribble through and around different obstacles. If your technique is "average", then your speed with the ball won't be high enough for you to improve your soccer fitness.
If you perform the same drill/track without the ball, then that pace and speed would be a lot higher, and therefore, doing conditioning without the ball can sometimes be of importance.
Here's what I recommend for improving soccer fitness, both with and without the ball:
With the ball
1. Play 11 v 11/10 v 10/9 v 9 on a 4/5 sized field (penalty box to sideline).
2. Playing 7 v 7/6 v 6 on half a soccer field.
3. Playing 5 v 5/4 v 4 in a 20 meter x 20 meter/30 meter x 30 meter area. This variation can also be played with extra players along the sidelines that support the team with the ball. To make it more difficult, have the players in the box play man-man defense, where they have to follow their man everywhere in defense.
4. 2 v 2/3 v 3 in a smaller area, 15 x 15 meter/10 meter x 10 meters).
For these variations, playing for 4-8 minutes down to 2 minutes is what I recommend.
- Up to 8 minutes without a break is recommended when playing 11 v 11 for instance,
- 5-6 minutes when playing 7 v 7/6 v 6,
- 3-4 minutes when playing 5 v 5/4 v 4,
- and 1-3 minutes when playing 2 v 2/3 v 3.
Remember that this is just general guidelines, primarily used with older players (17-24 year olds). If you work with younger players, make decisions based on your own observations and experience.
For more sprinting and high intensity running, these are the type of methods I recommend:
1. 2 v 2 Counter Attacks. You play with 2 goals at a distance of anywhere from 15-40 meters apart. You divide a group into 2 teams, and the players within each team pair up 2 and 2. You start the drill by having one team attacking against the other team. When the defending team either wins the ball or the ball is "dead" (after attacking team has finished), the next 2 players standing on each side of the post behind the defending team starts a counter attack. So the team who was attacking, now has to run back towards their own goal to prevent the other team from scoring.
The drill goes on like that without a brake for 2-4 minutes. Having a total of 6-8 players per team is a good recommendation, but you may use more or less depending on level.
This is a fantastic drill where the players have to sprint for 10-30 meters, sometimes with the ball, and sometimes without the ball, and they have to make good decisions even when they feel fatigue.
2. "Football Sprints". This is something Raymond Verheijen uses a lot with his players in South Korea when preparing for the World Cup.
It is basically a duel between 2 players who sprint for 10-30 meters competing for the ball (who has been delivered by the coach), and the one who gets to the ball first have the opportunity to score.
This is a fantastic way to implement sprint training in a soccer based environment. Just use your imagination with this one!
Without the ball
1. Agility track. As I said, some drills are better performed without the ball, especially at a "lower" level. Set up a set of cones in some type of pattern (T, L, Arrow Head, etc), and have the players sprint through the track as fast as possible. If you are working on conditioning, have them repeat the track several times with pretty short rest.
2. 10-40 meter sprints. Sometimes I implement 10-40 meter sprints in a type of interval setting, without a ball. This is primarily done because players sometimes ask for it, and it does have a psychological impact on the players.
Summary
To improve soccer fitness and soccer conditioning, I really do recommend you to focus most of your efforts on actually playing soccer. I'd say that 80-90% of the conditioning I do with my players is with the ball in different "game-situations", and 10-20% is without the ball, mainly with different agility drills and sprints.
And last but not least, if you work with kids (8-12/13 years old), don't think about conditioning. Just play and have fun, and work more on developing movement skills and coordination.
How to Improve Soccer Fitness
About The Author
Jonas Forsberg is a Swedish Soccer Speed Coach who helps soccer players to improve their soccer specific speed, without making it too complicated. Visit The Soccer Speed Blog for more info!
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