How to Train a Soccer Team

Ask the players if any have an injury or aggravation before starting the session. If any player answers yes, that player should have his injury assessed. If there is any doubt, the player should not take part in any training session until cleared by a medical team or when the injury has cleared to an extent that there is no danger of re-injury or aggravating an existing injury.

Direct the players to walk slowly for a short period of time before asking them to quicken the pace so that the players are walking briskly. Extend this further by asking them to perform a light jog. Stop this part of the training after 10 minutes.

Tell the players to go through a stretching routine oriented to working on core muscle groups. Stretches that work the muscles in the calf, hamstring, groin and quadriceps area are key for soccer. Have the players also perform a general stretch on all areas of the body. The stretching session is the most valuable in the training program and should should last for 10 minutes.

Give the players a few minutes of their own stretching time where they can exercise any further parts of their body that they wish. Give them five minutes for this.

Direct the players to pick up a jogging pace at a quicker tempo to the initial jog at the start of the session. Command the players for every 30 seconds that they are jogging to inject a boost of pace so that they are running at maximum speed for five seconds. Do this several times until the players appear to be naturally fatiguing. Do this for 10 minutes.

Instruct the players to stretch further at the end of the jogging/sprinting. This will keep their bodies flexible. This should last five minutes.

Give a soccer ball to the players for the next part of the training session. Organize them so a group of players forms a circle around a smaller number of players who are inside the circle. The purpose is for those players who form the circle to keep the ball amongst themselves while those inside the circle attempt to intercept the ball as it is traveling around them. The numbers will remain constant throughout the session with only the roles changing when the ball is intercepted. Run this part of the session for 15 minutes.

Divide the players into two groups of roughly equal numbers and ability and set up six cones with each cone about four yards away from one another in a straight line. The players should dribble in and out of the cones, turning at the final cone and repeating the exercise until the dribbler and the ball are back with his teammates, who have formd a line behind the team member at the starting cone. Once the dribbler has returned the ball to the team, the next person goes through the same process until all members have completed the course. Get them to do the process again so this session lasts 10 minutes.

Organize the players into equal sized groups of roughly equal ability and ensure that each team has a blend of positions of goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers. The existing groups from the previous exercise could suffice. Get the players to play normally as they would in the game, attacking the opponent's goal. Have two halves in the match, changing ends at the half time interval, with each half lasting for 15 to 20 minutes.

Call time on the practice game when the match time has expired. Tell the players to perform a five minute warm down session in which they lightly jog around the pitch. Evaluate what you've seen in the session and make notes as to any over/under performance by any individuals. The training session and any practice match performance will provide clues as to who to pick in the starting lineup in the next competitive match.