SINGLE LEG STRENGTH-TIP 4/8 FOR SOCCER PLAYERS THIS OFF-SEASON

What do you you notice in all 4 pictures?

(Permission was asked by these athletes prior)

Clearly the game of soccer(sports in general) is played majority on 1 leg. From running, tackling, bounding, cutting, passing, shooting. With that in mind be sure to place a big emphasis on single leg work inside the gym!

ACCELERATION-TIP 4/8 FOR SOCCER PLAYERS THIS OFF-SEASON

In case you missed tip 3 on preventing ACL tears, click here to read!

Team sports are all about acceleration. Battles are won in the first few yards rather than at top speeds. With that in mind, our main focus is the start & first step to either break away from an opponent or get to one. We know that if we improve our acceleration, our top and speed will also improve.

Here’s a few drills we use in the off-season in order

1. Load & goes-Great drill to teach tension and how to go from extension to flexion without compensating through the spine. 

2. Sleds-They might be the best tool for speed (besides sprints of course) We like to teach marches first with an upright posture before we get to sled sprints. 

3. Resistance sprints- Whether you have a sled or bands, resistance sprints are a great tool. During advanced programming we will utilize some PAP and go resisted to unresisted right away. 

4. Push up starts-One of my favorites to improve mechanics and also reaction time. 

5. Tag games-Great for reaction/first step.

6. MB tosses-Great way to work on exploding through the hips as well as mechanics.

7. Drop step and go- 1 way we want to create force off the front leg to propel us forward.

8. Sprint build ups-Piecing it together-Every 10 yards/whistle our athletes get a little bit faster leading up to a full out sprint.