Pre Season Soccer Training

Aerobic Training

• UltimateSoccerCoaching.com suggests starting the early stages of pre-season training with light aerobic exercise. Starting slow and gradually picking up the pace will help players' bodies get used to the increase in physical activity. This is key for avoiding injuries and aches at the beginning of training. Soccer players run an average of six or more miles in each game, according to SportsFitnessAdvisor.com. As such, building aerobic fitness ranks as an extremely important element of the pre season. Players should run at least a couple of miles every day over the first few weeks of training with the goal of steadily improving their pace and endurance.

Anaerobic Training

• Anaerobic fitness is another important part of soccer. Whereas aerobic fitness focuses on extended endurance over long distances, anaerobic fitness centers around short bursts of intense running and quick recovery afterward. Interval sprints stand out as one of the more effective methods for achieving this end. In the case of interval sprints, coaches will instruct players to run at full pace over a set distance. Then the players will be given a short rest period before the next sprint. This cycle of sprints and rest periods simulates the sort of running that players will experience when they play in actual soccer matches, gradually increasing their endurance and recovery rates so they can compete with more intensity when the game is on the line.

Speed and Agility Training

• After several weeks of aerobic and anaerobic training, players should be ready to work on speed and agility. Agility drills are more likely to produce sprains and muscle pulls, so it's a good idea to wait until players' bodies are used to regular physical activity before starting this phase of training. Myriad drills exist for speed and agility, but some of the most common exercises include shuttle runs and slalom runs. Shuttle runs require players to sprint back and forth between a starting line and several points at increasingly great distances, forcing the athlete to make quick cuts and explode out of their turns. As for slalom runs, these kinds of drills typically feature a staggered series of cones or flags that players must navigate at full pace, bobbing and weaving as they sprint through the course.

Strength Trainining

• Strength training isn't as important in soccer as it is in sports like football and rugby, but it can still make a difference on the field. Soccer players should focus on building lean muscle, which means completing more reps with less weight. Key muscle groups to focus on include the abdominal core, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves. Push ups can also enhance upper-body strength.

Soccer-Specific Training

• Every team should devote a large amount of time during the pre-season to soccer-specific training once the basic level of physical fitness has been established. This means practicing the fundamentals such as dribbling, passing, shooting and trapping the ball. This phase of training should also incorporate tactical lessons that teach players how to position themselves and how to play as a team.

Team Building

• Finally, a successful pre-season may culminate with some form of team building. Players will have already developed some camaraderie during the previous stages of training, but a good coach will spend some extra time encouraging players to build a rapport with one another. This can be done in many ways, and each coach must find a suitable approach that suits the personality of the team.