What Exercises Can Make You a Better Soccer Player?

Soccer players need endurance, speed, agility and strength as they battle the opposing team to maintain possession of the ball. Players at each position require specialized skills to defend or attack. A blend of exercises help make you a better overall soccer player.

  1. Endurance

    • Soccer players need to have endurance so that they can last the entire game. But they do not go the same pace the whole match: They alternate between walking, jogging, running and sprinting. Therefore, interval exercises of lower and high intensity serve you well in your training.

    Strength

    • Strength has a profound impact on a soccer player's ability to strike the ball and contend with his opponents. Developing strength in the upper body, abs and legs is important. Bodyweight and free weight workouts should focus on compound, functional exercises. These include pushups, chinups and dips for the upper body; situps and crunches for the abs; and lunges, squats and calf raises for the legs.

    Agility and Speed

    • A soccer player's speed determines if she is able to get to the ball first, while her agility effects how well she handles the ball once she gets it. Increasing speed and improving agility will help a soccer player do better in the game. Timed sprints of a specific distance can help measure your speed. Compete against your time by sprinting that distance until your speed improves. Add agility training by weaving in and out of cones as you run your speed drills. To improve your explosiveness, do power moves like jump squats and power cleans.

    Position Specific

    • Each position requires a specific skill set, so doing focused plyometric exercises will help you train to be better in your specific position. Goalkeepers should practice lateral bounds, as they must jump back and forth to defend the goal. This exercise is performed by standing on the right foot, leaping as far you can to the left, catching your weight with the left foot, and then leaping back to the right. Start out by pausing three seconds between bounds and then increase speed

      Defenders should practice explosive push-ups as they need to battle for position and possession of the ball. Begin by lowering your body as you would in a traditional pushup, but instead of extending your arms to finish the move, push yourself up so your hands are off of the floor. Land gently and repeat.

      Strikers need to be the fastest and most agile, so they should focus on quick agility drills like the T-hop. In this drill, players practice hopping side to side and front to back in the shape of the letter T. Practice with your feet together and then one foot at a time. Increase speed as you progress through the exercise.