How to Become a Better Soccer Player: Speed, Agility, Strength, Endurance

If you have ever wanted to kick farther or be able to take those rocket-powered shots on goal that you see in the pros, you will need to do strength training. That's right, you will need to hit the gym. In fact, an average professional soccer player can max squat about 400lbs. So how do you reach a 400lb squat? Well, first let me say that I can't cover every technique and drill here, but the information found from Total Soccer Fitness will be a great help for all your soccer needs. Anyway, I'll touch on a few things that I found to help in this lens.

One of the most important thing to keep in mind when training for soccer is that it is a very multifunctional sport. In other words, you perform many different motions/movements when playing a game of soccer including sprinting, jogging, jumping, and turning. Some of which you will have a ball at your feet, making it even more difficult and exhausting. It is therefore very important to remember to not focus too much on singular exercises, or exercises that specifically focus on one muscle group, such as the quads. Now don't get me wrong, incorporating some singular muscle exercises will definitely be beneficial to increasing your soccer strength, just don't ALWAYS do the only singular exercises. Be sure to incorporate enough multifunctional exercises into your typical workout.

Now when is the best time to workout to increase your soccer strength?

Well, during the off-season should be the obvious answer to this. You want to train the most in the off-season when you are not playing games and putting your muscles under extreme stress after they are already sore from training. But how often should you workout to increase your strength? Well, you should try to give your muscles 1-2 days of rest between training sessions to allow them to recover. I don't mean simply take 1-2 days off from all activity and just sit on the couch and watch TV. No, during those 1-2 days you can still do other training activities. Just make sure to WARM UP, STRETCH, and COOL DOWN properly so you don't injure yourself. For example, the first day after lifting weights you could warm up with some light cardio followed by a foot skills session and on the second day of "rest" you could do some heavier cardio, agility, or speed training. If you are concerned about injury, some useful information can be found from Elite Soccer Power on improving soccer strength while preventing injury.

That's great and everything, but what exercises should you actually do?

First, let me say that I'll list only a few of the many great exercises to do here. Check farther down the page for some actual gym exercises that don't just work strength. Here, we'll start of with two of the more well-known ones, the squat and the deadlift. Both are great exercises for increasing strength as they require effort from the entire body to perform. Of course there are different variations to each which may better suit your needs depending on whether or not you have current muscular imbalances or not.

Next, there are some great exercises to increase your vertical leap height so you can get that header and score that game-winning goal. Two such exercises are the clean-and-pull and the simple box jump. I have used both of these on a regular basis to help me improve my own vertical leap and overall strength. I've gone more into detail about these two later in the lens.

Finally, balance is also a very important factor in strength training that should not be overlooked. A couple exercises that I like to use to improve balance are to do squats while standing on a swiss ball and to do single-leg squats. I've also explained both of these more in detail later in the lens. However, both of these techniques are more advanced and should not be attempted until you have a good base strength and balance. There are plenty of beginner level balance exercises out there too that may take just a bit of research to find, such as the single-leg stand on a bosu ball.

Well, there is a wealth of information out there to help you become the best, strongest, quickest, and fastest soccer player out there, but these are just a few things to keep in mind when you are doing your training. Next up will be some quick tips on speed training for soccer followed by some agility training tips and lastly some endurance training tips.

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Next on the list is soccer speed training. Many people, including myself, have wondered how they could improve their top running speed when playing a sport. Well, the simplest answer to "How do I run fast?" is to run fast, over and over. Of course there's a little more to it than that and there are variations that help too, but that's the most general Idea.

One such exercise that mildly simulates gameplay can be performed on a running track. This exercise will help to increase both speed and endurance. The basics are simply to sprint the straight parts and jog slowly around the curves. Just remember for all soccer training to WARM UP and STRETCH before performing any training exercises. Another simple sprinting drill can be performed on the pitch (soccer field). Start at one endline and sprint to the closest 18yd line, then jog back to the closest endline. If you consider yourself a beginner then rest for a total of 45sec. Repeat this 2 more times. Then sprint to the 50yd line and jog back. Rest for 75seconds and repeat 2 more times. Finally sprint to the other 18yd line and jog back, taking 105sec of rest before repeating 2 more times. That completes the drill. Remember that the "jog back" is included in the "rest time." Again, Total Soccer Fitness offers a good amount of information for increasing soccer sprinting speed.

To compliment your field sprint speed training, there are also exercises you can perform in the gym to build explosive power and increase your speed. One of my favorite exercises for this is the jump and lunge. This is another great leg exercise that I use on a regular basis to improve overall strength and speed. This one is explained later in the lens. Another good form of exercise for speed is static holds. There are a number of different ways to perform them with some focusing on multiple muscles while others isolate specific muscle groups. Again, the most important thing to remember is to WARM UP and STRETCH to prevent injury. Check out Elite Soccer Power for some tips on injury prevention. Next I'll go over some tips for increasing soccer agility and acceleration followed by endurance training.

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When I think of soccer agility drills I typically think of the rope ladders stretched across the ground. Although that's the first thing that comes to mind, and it is an effective tool to use, I have only used one once or twice but still manage to be one of the quickest players on the field. There are a number of agility and acceleration drills that can be done without any equipment or with a simple set of cones. One of my favorite acceleration drills can be done just about anywhere outside. All you have to do is stand on one foot and hop as far forward as you can for 5 hops. Then switch feet and do the same thing. Remember to land and leave from your TOES. DO NOT land flat-footed. Do this for 4 sets for each foot. Many agility drills can be performed on the field using cones as markers. For some good agility tips check out Total Soccer Fitness or Epic Soccer Training. Both are good resources to improve you soccer speed, agility, strength, and endurance.

One of the simplest agility drills can be done with a set of 8-10 cones. All you need to do is set up the cones in a straight line about 4-5yds apart. Then weave back and forth between the cones as quickly as you can. Take a short rest, then turn around and do it again. Repeat a total of 2-3 times per training session. Another one can be done with only 5 cones. Set up the cones in a + formation between 6-7yds apart. Start at the bottom cone and sprint forward to the middle cone. Immediately side-shuffle to the right to the edge cone. Then side-shuffle back to the middle cone and sprint forward to the topmost cone. Back-peddal to the middle cone and side-shuffle to the left. Side-shuffle back to the middle cone and and then back-peddal to the start. Repeat this 1-2 more times per session. These are just two of the many drills that can be performed with just cones to increase your soccer agility. Up next I will briefly go over soccer endurance training.

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When training for endurance for any sport it is important to remember one thing: train how you play. In other words for a sport like soccer, running continuously for miles and miles would not be the most beneficial because that is not how the game is played. Instead, it would be better to train endurance by performing a series of high intensity followed by brief rest periods. This mimics the idea of interval training.

My favorite exercise for this can be performed on the pitch. Start at one end line and sprint to the 6yd line. Turn and sprint back to the end line. Immediately turn and sprint to the 18yd line, back to the end line, to the half line, back to the end line, then all the way to the other 18yd line and back. Rest for about 1 minute. This is one set. If you are a beginner just do 1-2 more sets, but increase the number of sets as your endurance increases. The goal of this drill is to be able to complete the entire sprint in about 65 seconds. These types of exercises are very difficult and put a strain on your muscles, so be sure to WARM UP and STRETCH properly before attempting any sort of interval training for soccer endurance. Check out Total Soccer Fitness for some other great tips on improving your soccer endurance.

Another good exercise that I like also uses the lines on the field. Again, start at the end line. Sprint to the 6yd line and back to the end line. Immediately turn and sprint to the 18yd line and back. That is one set. Rest for only 10seconds. Complete a total of 10 sets to finish this exercise. Just remember with all soccer training, "Practice how you play" to get the most out of your training sessions. Hopefully some of this information will help you to improve your soccer strength, agility, endurance, and speed and become the best on the field.

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Jump and Lunge

Alright, in the strength training portion of the lens I didn't really mention any specific exercises to do. That's because I thought I would include some at the end of the lens, since some of the exercises are great for more than just strength. I'm gonna jump right into it. The first, and my favorite exercise is the jump-and-lunge. This is a great exercise to help increase speed, strength, and agility, and one that I do myself nearly every time I lift. To perform the jump-and-lunge begin by picking up a dumbbell in each hand (maybe only 10lbs just to get the hang of it). Step your right foot forward into a lunge position. Instead of returning to the starting position, jump and switch legs so your left foot is forward. That's one rep. Choose a weight where you can perform 8-10 reps and do 3 sets. I find that this exercise also makes my quads burn A LOT.

Balance Exercises

The second exercise that I like is a one-footed stand on a bosu ball. This is best done without shoes on. To do this exercise, stand with one foot on the bosu ball and the the other slightly out in front of you. Bend your knee slightly (the one you're standing on) and hold that position for 15 seconds. Then switch feet and do it again. Rest 30 seconds and do a total of 3 sets for each leg. Once you find your balance increases, hold the position for longer. Another balance and strength exercise is to do bodyweight squats while standing on a swiss ball. This one is pretty self-explanatory but do it where you can catch yourself if you fall or where you won't fall into something. Do 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Balance is very important for all sports and I would recommend doing balance training at least every other time you go to the gym.

Vertical Leap

The two final exercises are for increasing your vertical leap height to get those awesome headers. The first is the clean and pull. To get the hang of it just use an unloaded barbell. You can increase the weight as you become more experienced. To perform the clean and pull assume a position as if you were about to do a deadlift. With your back straight and proper form, explosively lift with your legs and rise up onto your toes while pulling the bar up to chest/chin height. Return to the starting position slowly. Do 3 sets of 10 reps. Typically perform this exercise as part of your warm up.

The second vertical height exercise is a simple box jump. Find a box or bench about 24 inches high. Jump up onto it and hop right back down, landing on your toes. Do 10 reps for 3 sets. Alternatively, if you find the box is too low, either increase the box height or hold a weight plate in front of you while performing the exercise. When I first started doing these exercises I could maybe graze a basketball rim with my fingertips, but now I am able to actually get my entire palm above the rim.

Static Holds

The one-footed stand on a bosu ball is also an example of a static hold. Or, a position that is held steady for a period of time. There's a number of different variations of static holds, but he most typical is the wall squat. If you haven't done these before, stand with your back against a wall and move into a squat position with your thighs parallel to the floor. Hold. Simple, right? Hold it for as long as you can, rest, and then do it another 2 times. Feel free to do a static hold squat while standing on a swiss ball to incorporate balance, too.

Also, of course, don't forget your normal exercises like the squat, deadlift, etc.