Newsletter #58 - A Behind the Scenes Look at a #1 Soccer SAQ Program!
In this weeks newsletter you will get:
1. Behind the Scene's... Even though I preach the benefits of Soccer Specific Speed and Conditioning, I really consider myself a "Player Development Professional." Here's a quick look at the numbers we are tracking in the first 30minutes of our STUSA - Club Soccer SAQ Program: Warm Up: We warm Up on 24 rung speed ladders with a turn around cone 12-15 yards from the end of the ladder. We have each player go through the speed ladder using one of our 5 basic footwork patterns and then run to the turn around cone and do various dynamic warm up movements on the way back beginning of the ladder...
These numbers will vary due to the age group we are working with, the time it takes to learn and coordinate the footwork patterns and the arm drive technique, and the temperature during training... If it's really cold out then we might add a few more reps in the speed ladder or move the turn around cone out to 20 yards to keep them moving longer. After the warm up we get a 30 second water break and come back to the speed ladder for speed coordination training. This is where we:
The goal for each group is to complete the soccer specific footwork patterns # 6-10 before we move on to the next drill. It doesn't always get done because lots of teaching is needed to work with each player but by the second half of the program the better groups can complete all 6-10 footwork patterns in a relatively short amount of time. While we are working in this section of the program once the athlete exits the ladder they walk back to the start - there is no run to a turn around cone because we want as many repetitions as possible with the time we have alotted.
Speed Ladder Work: Here's soccer specific patterns #6-10 with the corresponding number of controled foot strikes (FS): 6 - Cross - Over's: 69 FS x 2 reps = 138 This will take us 15-20 min. to complete for a total of 1334 controled foot strikes and corresponding arm drives. So, in the first 30 minutes of our system we attempt to get through all ten footwork patterns for a grand total of:
I don't know the exact numbers yet but we are getting through all 10 footwork patterns about 80% so the number of controlled footstrikes can vary from around 1200 on the low ent to the numbers above. After we finish our speed ladder work we move onto what we call "The Acceleration Zone!" Look for that program in another newsletter... I hope this spurs some creative thoughts for you and gives you an ideas for your own soccer speed programs... Chochi Valenzuela - Director of Speed Trainers USA in Seattle WA
#2 - Inspiration! |