Aug 24, 2013

Basic College Soccer Training Drills For Preseason

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By Andrea Davidson


If you're a college soccer player then you know how important it is to be fit for the start of the season. It might not be much fun, but college soccer training is a key element in whether you're ready when the whistle blows for the first game. Trainers that have planned the preseason fitness regime will usually see better results than those who do not have a preseason fitness program.

The training schedule needs to be planned with precision, in order to maximize the impact of each session. In an ideal world this will start 5 or 6 weeks prior to the season opening game. Normally you'll start off each sessions with a light warm-up, one that includes stretching and a little light jogging to get the muscles warm. It's important not to strain them during these sessions, that's why the emphasis is on warming up thoroughly.

When you train it's vital to stretch all the muscle groups with both static and moving exercises. Moving exercises are simply those that involve swinging the legs and arms in circular movements, and twisting the upper body. The stationery, or static exercises, are designed to stretch the quad muscles and the hamstrings.

A lot of the emphasis is on match fitness. Running is therefore very important because it allows you to build up stamina. Cardio and aerobic exercises are usually increased gradually, the players running longer distances as they build up more stamina. Cross country runs are fairly popular, as these not only make players fitter, they build up camaraderie.

As the season draws near you should be focusing less on long distance running and more on short sprints and working with the ball. For the latter players are usually grouped in pairs or as five-a-side teams and have to work in tight spaces with the ball, touching it a maximum of once or twice before having to pass to a team member.

It's important that each player practices shooting and free kicks. Often this takes place right at the end of a session and it gives the goalkeeper valuable practice at stopping the ball. When warming down after these sessions it's absolutely essential that it's done gently, so that muscles are not torn or overworked. A warm down isn't supposed to be intense.

The idea is to make sure that the early part of preseason involves light work. Taking things easy is important because some players will return to training unfit, and they'll need more time to build up their fitness. To make sure that boredom does not set in, it's a good idea to incorporate some fun into practice. If not, players will find it demotivating and might not try hard.

As the season gets underway you may find that your preseason college soccer training regime has not quite gotten them fit for matches. This is not unusual. The only way for players to get fit for matches is to play competitive matches. Oftentimes it takes around two to three games for them to get fully fit for the actual game. Preseason should training help them get there quicker.




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