Beep.....Beep.....Beep

Recently, I was hired by Lonestar Soccer Club as their Strength and Fitness Coach for the upcoming fall season. My first duty has been to administer the YIRT, or the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, or as it's more commonly known, the Beep Test, to several of their teams.

The Beep Test is a great measure of fitness as it relates to soccer. Players must perform 20 meter shuttle runs in a set amount of time with only a small amount of time to rest in between runs.  The time to complete the shuttle runs decreases over the course of the test, challenging the players to run faster as they fight off fatigue.

In addition to the obvious physical demands the test places on the players, there is a huge mental challenge as well. If you do not complete the shuttle runs in the set amount of time, you receive a warning. The next time you fail to finish the run in the alloted time, you are disqualified and your speed level and stage is recorded. Obviously, coaches want and need fit players, so the aim is to carry on completing the shuttle runs as long as possible.

With both a physical and mental demand, you can draw many parallels between the Beep Test and the game of soccer. Physically, it taxes both your aerobic and anaerobic systems by having you steadily run faster shuttles over an extended period of time with minimal amounts of full rest and recovery. And because you are only allowed a small window of failure, the runner must stay sharp, focused, and determined to run until they have nothing left in them.

Picture a player, we'll call him John, sprinting 40 yards back to defend against Bob, who is trying to score against John's team. John's team is winning 1-0 and it's the final minute of the game. Both John and Bob have played the whole game and are desperate to have an impact on the remaining minute of the game. John must keep the score as it is and Bob must try to score in order to gain anything out of the game.

Who is going to come out on top? Is there any way we can predict which one of these two will succeed?  While testing can never compare to the actual game and how it will unfold, it can certainly give us a window into the fitness and determination of our players. Fitness is one thing that players can actually control. A fit player will score higher on the Beep Test, will not lose technique as quickly in the game, and will have the mental composure to make better choices as the game gets long.

Coaches and clubs can use the Beep Test as a tool to improve their teams fitness by setting a baseline to work from and improve on. Once you have a foundation, it's easier to plot a plan for improvement to be made. And as the new Strength and Fitness Coach, I am greatly looking forward to developing the training program that will help Lonestar Soccer Club's Beep Test scores improve!