Monday, August 12, 2013

Information On Preseason College Soccer Training

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.

Getting fit to play matches means you have to be able to run a lot. This builds up stamina, which means you'll last the whole game. This is one reason why long-distance cross country runs are quite popular. They increase cardiovascular fitness and, because the players are kept together in a group, it promotes comradeship among them.

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.

When starting out in preseason it is best to start on light work, because the players that return will probably not be very fit. It takes a while to build up stamina and this is done partly by a injecting a sense of fun into the sessions. Players can become bored very easily, therefore they often need motivating during fitness work.

Preseason college soccer training is about keeping players motivated enough to be fit for the start of the season. Working slowly at first, so that players build up fitness gradually, makes the most sense. At all times the accent should be on conditioning and in improving their basic touch and all-round play. It should be remembered that players cannot really get match fit until they have played a few preseason games and a few competitive matches also.




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