Good evening everyone!! We had 2 great soccer-specific training sessions at Meyer Athletic Development today, with both groups focusing on developing linear speed! First off, I want to thank Brad, Erin, and Hannah in my Elementary-aged group and Erynn, Kaitlynn, Kelly, and Sarah in my Middle School-aged group for paying great attention to instruction and really having fun with the session!!
We started by trying to improve our stride frequency and foot speed by working through a set of agility rings. In order to establish some coordination and rhythm, we started by running through the rings, touching one foot in each and then bursting 7 yards to the next set of rings. The focus was on minimizing ground contact by striking the ground with just the ball of the foot. Then, we moved on to double foot taps in each ring. In the first ring set, we struck the ground with our right foot first, the second set with our left. A lot of folks might feel that basic patterns like these might not be challenging enough. However, I find that when you work with younger age groups, you really must hit home the basic coordination patterns in order for them to succeed with more intricate ones. You'd be surprised how right or left-dominate some soccer kids can be. Going from leading with their right foot to leading with their left really threw some of them off significantly.
Our last progression with the agilty rings was a bounding series. I started by removing every other ring and had the kids bound from one to the other and then take off on a 7 yard sprint. Again, the focus was on minimizing ground contact time. But, I also made sure to instruct them to really push off that plant foot and drive to the next ring. Since there was a bit of space between the rings, we were also working to decrease stride frequency by increasing the distance between our steps. By the end of the series, you could really see the kids exploding into their stride a bit more than before.
After finishing with the rings, we complimented our speed work with some lower-body strength and power by incorporating some split squats and medicine ball frog tosses. Starting in a split squat with the back knee on the ground and a 6lb Dynamax ball in their hands, the kids powered up from the ground and balanced themselves in a split stance. After 4 reps, they squared their feet up and lowered the ball into a squat and broad jumped as far as they could, releasing the ball in a granny toss at the same time. In combining these two exercises, we addressed the issue of hip flexibility, glute and quadricep strength, ankle-knee-hip stability, and overall hip power which is crucial to successful speed training.
We finished the session with some fun fitness. The kids partnered up and stood 15 yards away from each other. Partner 1 dribbled their soccer ball across the field to Partner 2, leaving it there. Partner 2 then passed the ball back to where Partner 1 started as Partner 1 tried to beat the ball back to the spot. After 4 rounds each, the kids were whipped with big smiles on their faces.
So, I hope you enjoyed this little view into how we develop linear speed in young soccer players at Meyer Athletic Development. If you think your young soccer player would benefit from some quality speed, strength, and agility training, then give us a shout today at 512-983-0443.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
A Little R and R
My wife and I just recently celebrated 5 years of marriage and we decided to take a week vacation to Las Vegas and Reno to treat ourselves. While in Vegas, we lived it up, staying up late dancing, eating at really great restaurants, getting massages, and lounging in the pool. Once we got to Reno, we became a bit more active, taking leisurely bike rides and walking the dogs with my brother and sister-in-law who live there. Even though I am in the middle of my triathlon season, I didn't do any serious training and I allowed myself to rest and relax.
As an athlete, we are always trying to find an edge in order to increase our performance. The same goes for parents of athletes. You want the best for your child and you will look for ways to separate them for the rest of the field. However, what we sometimes forget is that having proper rest and recovery is crucial to success and may even be the most important part of the training regimen.
When you train, whether it be in the weight room or on the playing field, your muscles get fatigued. Your coordination, speed, and power are decreased after training and your muscles are actually broken down. In order for your muscles to overcome fatigue, increase performance, and actually grow, adequate rest and recovery is required.
One of the best forms of rest and recovery is hydrotherapy. When you train, your muscles produce lactic acid, which is a waste product that is best associated with stiffness and soreness in your body. Simply taking a hot shower or sitting in a hot tub for 8-10 minutes is a great way to increase bloodflow to your muscles which will remove the waste products that have been generated by your training.
Stretching is another great form of recovery that you can utilize. Once your training session is done, performing some light stretching exercises has a number of therapeutic benefits. It can increase local blood supply to the muscle which can potentially reduce our soreness, increase range of motion, and it can produce muscle relaxation. Pick the muscle groups that you worked the most and stretch them for 20-30 seconds. The stretch doesn't have to be painful to be effective. You should feel just a minor pull on the muscle to know that you're getting something out of the stretch.
And finally, sometimes the best form of rest and relaxation can be just sitting around and doing nothing! If your body is constantly being pushed to the limit, you may really need to just take some time off. Any good strength and conditioning professional will work at least 1-2 full days of NO training into their schedule to ensure that their body gets a break. I always take Wednesdays and Saturdays off from triathlon training so that my body stays as fresh as possible. The training I do is intense and sometimes, I train twice a day. By using hydrotherapy, stretching, and taking days off, I can maximize my performance when it comes time to particpate in a race.
So, even though I called it a vacation, one could argue that my anniversary trip was just another part of my training routine!
As an athlete, we are always trying to find an edge in order to increase our performance. The same goes for parents of athletes. You want the best for your child and you will look for ways to separate them for the rest of the field. However, what we sometimes forget is that having proper rest and recovery is crucial to success and may even be the most important part of the training regimen.
When you train, whether it be in the weight room or on the playing field, your muscles get fatigued. Your coordination, speed, and power are decreased after training and your muscles are actually broken down. In order for your muscles to overcome fatigue, increase performance, and actually grow, adequate rest and recovery is required.
One of the best forms of rest and recovery is hydrotherapy. When you train, your muscles produce lactic acid, which is a waste product that is best associated with stiffness and soreness in your body. Simply taking a hot shower or sitting in a hot tub for 8-10 minutes is a great way to increase bloodflow to your muscles which will remove the waste products that have been generated by your training.
Stretching is another great form of recovery that you can utilize. Once your training session is done, performing some light stretching exercises has a number of therapeutic benefits. It can increase local blood supply to the muscle which can potentially reduce our soreness, increase range of motion, and it can produce muscle relaxation. Pick the muscle groups that you worked the most and stretch them for 20-30 seconds. The stretch doesn't have to be painful to be effective. You should feel just a minor pull on the muscle to know that you're getting something out of the stretch.
And finally, sometimes the best form of rest and relaxation can be just sitting around and doing nothing! If your body is constantly being pushed to the limit, you may really need to just take some time off. Any good strength and conditioning professional will work at least 1-2 full days of NO training into their schedule to ensure that their body gets a break. I always take Wednesdays and Saturdays off from triathlon training so that my body stays as fresh as possible. The training I do is intense and sometimes, I train twice a day. By using hydrotherapy, stretching, and taking days off, I can maximize my performance when it comes time to particpate in a race.
So, even though I called it a vacation, one could argue that my anniversary trip was just another part of my training routine!
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