" THE SPEED ZONE "

NEW!

Listen to the secrets of top Professional Coaches and Trainers on how to get Quicker Results .  
Read these expert articles that  give you & your kids the advantage you've been looking for!

What Category Do you fit into?  Coach - Youth  Coach - College  Coach - Professional  Personal Trainer  Parent Administrator  Player - Youth  Player - College  Player - Professional  Ametuer / Recreational -older person like me player...

---

Latest Article:

Learn How to Have Your Fastest Season Ever!
Part 1 of a 5 part series

Regardless of what you hear - Speed is a Skill that Can Be Taught!

In this 5 part series you will learn how to invest your limited practice time to get results beyond your imagination!

Let's start your soccer speed training education off in the easiest and most effective place with this huge statement:

Your Speed Ladder is the most important and valuable training tool you will ever have to train speed to your team ~ if you don?t have one, get one Now!

Benefits of the Speed Ladder:

Ground Based, Fixed Target  -  Soccer is primarily a ground based sport requiring high levels of lower body agility, balance and coordination.  Athletes can more easily build these qualities by starting our with a stationary object rather than a moving object. 

Repetitive by Design -  "Repetition is the mother of Skill!"  I think is was Einstein who said that.  And, repetition is essential for building proper technique into muscle memory.

Speed Ladder Training Develops All These Athletic Characteristics:

• Foot Speed Quickness

• Agility

• Balance

• Coordination

• Mental Quickness

• Athletic Precision

• High Speed Control& Focus

• Athletic Spatial Awareness / Proprioception

• Fitness and Conditioning

 
It's Versatile - you can recreate hundreds of soccer specific movements on the ladder to build game situation athletic awareness.

The Speed Ladder is Fun & Challenging, your player?s will love it!

The Three Phases of Speed Ladder Training

Basic  -  Focus on coordination and technique while looking down at the Speed Ladder.  Eyes are focused on foot strikes in and out of the ladder and coordination.  Almost all of the learning process for a new footwork pattern will begin here.

Intermediate - Looking at the end of the ladder using your peripheral vision and feel to find the squares.  ?Heads Up? Training. Most spatial awareness will take place in this phase.

Elite - Game like movements which include upper body fakes, exaggerated or sporadic rhythm changes and dynamic movements. Very Game Like!  Most athleticism and creativity will be expressed at this level.


To effectively train your players on the speed ladder you have to understand how the body works together and a few concepts.

Body Control and Coordination for Maximum Speed requires all
Three Parts of the Body   1) Lower Body, 2) Core, 3) Upper Body.

Speed Ladder Training Focus: 

Upper Body / Lower Body Coordination - The main goal in speed ladder work is to coordinate all three parts of the body for maximum speed but mainly the upper and lower body. 

The easiest place to increase speed in your athlete's is to train them how to coordinate their upper body with the lower body; according to the footwork patterns you are using.

Upper body focus: 
Maximum Speed in soccer requires two different Upper Body techniques:

1)    Alligator Arms - Short, Quick and Super Fast Strides
2)    Eye Socket Hip Pocket - Longer Sprinting Strides

Concept #1 for Soccer Speed Training

THE FASTER YOUR ARMS GO, THE FASTER YOUR LEGS GO!
You can increase your speed by as much as 13% just by learning how to pump your arms properly!

Stay posted for part two of the series where we give you several challenging speed ladder exercises you can use with you teams.  But for now use these more basic footwork patterns.

Enjoy getting faster with your speed ladder!

--------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------

PC: The first topic is a speed coach versus soccer speed coach and making speed development specific. Let’s talk about what a soccer coach needs to know when bringing a speed coach on as a consultant. What are the differences?

CV: The difference between a soccer specific speed coach and a pure speed coach is somebody knowledgeable in the game of soccer who has a playing/coaching background can take each of the drills and apply them directly to game-specific situations. . I take basic speed drills and adapt them and make them better and more effective for soccer specific speed training.  This saves time because not only are my players getting faster, they are becoming a better soccer player at the same time.  For instance, to compare track versus soccer, in track you may be running 100 meters. It’s a set distance and everyone is waiting, lined up, ready to go at the same time. It’s a very controlled environment and the training techniques are appropriate tot hat environment. In soccer, the sport and game situations dictate that there are different distances and running speeds, etc. The players have to move in a short space of five yards squared transforming to a full-out 40-, 60- or 80-yard sprint. Added to this is acceleration and deceleration plus change of direction.

You want to find someone who can you take speed techniques and apply them to the soccer game, rather than just straight running? In soccer, you don’t make many runs of more than 60 yards. There are exceptions, but there aren’t many runs done that far.

Let me give you a picture of what a soccer specific speed trainer can bring to your organization.  I have done speed training in my 10-year professional soccer career and I’ve been a paid soccer coach and player development professional for 24+ years.  I worked with Total Soccer Systems in Vancouver, Canada (the top player development organizations in British Columbia).   My job was to find a way to develop young soccer players quicker than they are already doing it.  I noticed the ball hindered younger players’ ability to learn. The ball was a moving object and they could barely control their moving bodies, let alone their moving bodies in relation to a moving object. I took the ball out of it and taught them the physical movements of soccer first. I noticed that if I could teach them the physical movements and then put the ball back in, it would take them only 3-5 minutes to learn the movement I was teaching. Before, it would have taken them a week to learn it. I drew the line between taking the same movement pattern and creating a speed, quickness, and agility drills out of them. I could actually increase a player’s speed of play at any level by taking the moves they are already doing on the soccer field and creating a quickness and agility drills out of them.  Then I add sprinting  techniques and exercises into the movement sequences and you now have soccer specific speed and agility training.

I can’t speak to what it is to be a speed training professional as a track/football coach, except that they are different versions of the same thing. I could teach anyone to be a faster ATHLETE, but I can’t teach track or football.  When you have an understanding of the sport that you teach, you become 100 more times valuable to the player’s you are developing.  The benefit of having a soccer-specific speed trainer who has played or coached soccer is that they will take game situations, convert them down to exercises and create an all-out faster and quicker soccer player.

PC: If I understand correctly, you say that there are three areas of speed development within soccer. You have speed mechanics, which a speed coach could probably do. Then you have the movements of the game in which you bring in the speed movements, but then apply movements of soccer, such as the different aspects of pivoting, turning, running obstacles, etc. The third aspect is handling the ball, which is the skill of the game. Would you say that is a fair way of compartmentalizing speed development techniques?

CV: Yes. Those are three big compartments and I put them into one area called “basic speed training for individuals.” You summed that well for every individual player who comes through my training. Then, to advance the athletes I take what they just learned and translate that into small group speed experiences and then finally, team speed where there is tactical cooperation. The next aspect of it is with groups—soccer is not an individual sport. One must consider how you incorporate all of these aspects of speed in soccer (physical, technical, tactical, mental, creative, and perception/reaction speed) into small/large groups working from the foundational movements of players? Then, how do you do all of that, with speed? There are two other areas I train. The first goes beyond the physical aspects of an athlete’s mental processing to what I call “perception-reaction speed.” Next, I really encourage “creative speeds.” I define that as a player’s ability to execute all of what there is to be executed with flair and personality. That’s the type of players that stand out and are attractive to watch on the field; players such as Michael Jordan and David Beckham.

PC: Let’s talk about coaching tips and points as to when you feel a person is ready to move from mechanics to soccer pattern speed and then patterns with the ball. What are some cues you look for to determine when you start introducing the ball?

CV: Let’s say new players come into training. I spend 10-15 minutes on upper body and lower body coordination. Are the arms and legs working together? We go over technique, technique, technique, and I give them a couple of real simple line or cone drills to do.  With these exercises they notice whether or not their arms are working in conjunction or in rhythm with their legs. The technique drills are usually stationary—jogging in place, sitting or standing and working their arms, seeing how their arms work with their legs. Then I put them into a speed ladder or cone drill, something that controls technique with slight directional movement. I have them create upper body/lower body movement technique, then add the challenge of moving and balancing their body and coordinating it. Next, I add a little bit of speed to it—I use about 15 minutes for this introduction. Then we look to see ‘can they maintain a rhythm or coordination on the speed ladder’? Once they get rhythm and coordination, can they do it with added speed? Always reinforce this point with your athletes: “Technique is More Important than Speed”. I tell my players that speed is just controlled technique, done quickly. How quickly can you control the proper technique?

PC: Let’s discuss the aspect of coordination of the upper and lower body. What is the problem here and why is this so important in soccer?

CV: The biggest challenge for speed training in soccer is that we are taught lower body coordination as it relates to the soccer ball.  Consequently, almost all the training I have seen as a soccer coach and player is how to manipulate the ball with your feet. Coordination with the lower body is great in soccer players. They are very masterful at what they do, particularly lower body coordination, compared to other athletes. Our upper body is not trained at all.  Soccer players do not pump their arms when sprinting and this is something they are not taught to do. It’s not bad, but when they don’t have any upper body coordination along with their leg movement, it comparable to running down a soccer field with a heavy bag in each hand. The lower body is now trying to carry the weight of the core and upper body—you have an extra burden slowing you down. Not only must the lower body stabilize, it must control all gyrations of the head, and steady the arms that are swinging out to the sides (or however they are moving/positioned). And because of the nature of sprinting, you are actually doing all of this balanced on one foot at a time.  Improper upper body coordination not only slows you down, it causes you to work harder and use more energy.

To teach athletes upper body/lower body coordination, I teach them the mechanics of speed/sprinting and how their body works. I train them to pump their arms and I spend a lot of time with upper body exercises. It may seem counterproductive. They often think,  “I’m here to run faster, I should be running…” because that is how they have been trained. I train them to run smarter and faster.  I teach them the techniques and have them start to experience by doing several upper body running and sprinting drills.

At the beginning, instead of pumping their arms properly, soccer players will keep their hands down by their hips and wiggle them thinking that it will do the trick. That is a great stage because they are conscious of their arms and trying to do something with them; but, it’s not enough. In the players’ world, it seems they are doing good technique; however, it’s not a pump, it’s a wiggle. I have them go to the other side of the spectrum, where I have them over-exaggerate their arm swings. Nobody would run with arms flailing, coming back as far as they can, hands way over their heads. All of a sudden, when they do that, they start to experience the power of their arms. I then have them back off 10% from that. They still do those arms swing, but they start to tone them down and get to the  proper technique. For the soccer player who has never done the arm swing routine, when they are flailing their arms, they are closer to the proper technique than when they were trying to do it earlier on their own. They may have been wiggling their arms, but they were not doing it correctly. It feels like they are doing it right, because they have never done it before. When I have them exaggerate it, about 80% of them are closer to perfect technique than they even realize. So I have them back it off about 10%. Then I tell them that that is the perfect technique. It may still feel like they are flailing their arms, exaggerated and goofy, but that is the proper technique. This gives them a reference point to train from. Now they have an experience of what needs to be done, rather than having their hands down by their hips. This is exactly what happens on the field. The best thing about exercises for upper body/lower body coordination is that they are simple. That is where every soccer player should start.

over & Back’s using the Speed Ladder

This is the lower body portion of the technique.  (You can use a line on the ground as you see on the illustration or a line of flat cones).  Begin  with this pattern and do it 10 times over and back:  R2-L2-R1-L1, then begin the next 10:  L2-R2-L1-R1, this will develop your initial first step coordination on both sides.

Upper Body Technique for this drill:  Keep your arms pumping throughout the whole exercise.  Your arms should be bent at the elbows at 90 degree angle.  Bring your front hand up to shoulder height and your back hand back slightly behind your hip. Advanced training:  Add a 15yard sprint at the end of your 10 repetitions!

The Training Tip of the Day!  The faster you pump your arms, the faster your feet will move!

PC: Arms, feet coordination, mechanics and then ladder movements with rhythm—what would be the next step?

CV: Add Speed into the equation in small doses.  I continue challenging their foundation. If they can do those things at a high speed, then they are challenged by putting a soccer ball beyond the end of the ladder for the player to focus on. They are using their peripheral vision to see the rungs of the speed ladder as they focus on the ball. That is another challenge. I constantly coach them to focus on arms, arms, arms. Another mantra is, “The faster your arms go, the faster your legs go.” I will ask my players if they want their legs to go faster. If so, they must pump their arms and the other way around. It is totally focusing on technique so they can get the technique engrained. After that, I will bring the ball into it.

I have a DVD that has taken the physical movements of soccer and put them into speed ladder drills. Here is how you practice this type of move on a speed ladder. Let’s say we are doing crossovers—crossover one step in and two steps out, crossing over into the ladder. In soccer, it’s called a “step over move.” Next, I have them go out and practice it with the ball and then I bring them back and see if they can speed it up. We have already covered balance, rhythm, and now we put speed onto it. We take them out to the ball again and I have them do the drill more dynamically. It is now jumping back and forth to train the physical movement, hit it and execute it with the ball.

The next stage is taking the overall body movement that you would use on the field and place it in the speed ladder. Instead of working on the upper body/lower body coordination for balance, which you have them standing balanced and head steady in the drill—even if their arms are pumping and everything is working we now add an upper body fake into it. They take their upper body center and do an upper body feint/fake. They turn their shoulder into whichever direction they are going, facing one way and they go the other way.

Now you add a whole other movement (upper-body feint/fake) and have the athletes go back and start out slow. They must ask themselves, “Can I do this slowly and keep my balance.” If they can keep their balance at the first stage, then they should think, “I’ve got my balance, can I get a rhythm going?  Can I get this into a rhythm so I can do it over and over again all throughout the ladder?” Once they have their balance and got the rhythm of the physical movements, add speed and expose them to power movements. Then, take them out there and do it with the ball and the full progression of one move. You can spend 10 to 30 minutes on it. It may take them a couple of sessions to get to see the full progression show up on the field.  Initially, the players are not ready to control their bodies so dynamically. Every student or group is different. This is the progression I use, you will get to whatever stage you get to, depending level of your players.

Crossovers facing forwards – Using Upper body fake

L= Left foot, R= Right Foot, number after L&R is the sequence of steps.

PC: How do you work in small group activities?

CV: When we get into small groups, we stay on the step-over move. You can take that and challenge players. Put them into small groups and keep the space limited. Let’s say you have ten players. Divide them into to groups of five—one defender in a 5 x 10 yard grid trying to take the other players’ ball away from them. When you get your ball taken away, you become the defender. You give the players points to see if they can execute the move. The only way to get a point is to dribble at the defender, do your move and get away successfully. That is one way to do it.

At a younger age level, I have one defender who try and take the ball away from many players.  I give points to the players who execute the move(s) while in the grid (indirect pressure), or while the defender is trying to take the ball from them directly (direct pressure).  If they can execute the move, whether or not they lose the ball while executing, or if they lose the ball right after they execute the move, I still give them points. It’s a reward for having them attempt it under pressure. I gradually take that to a higher level by having two defenders and three attackers. Then three defenders and two attackers. Then I go something like a straight one-on-one to an objective—a goal. Think of it like a big speed ladder with each rung a grid of 5 x 5 yards. I have a tender in each grid and an attacker in each grid. The object is to try to beat the defender and advance to the next grid. That is probably the best one-on-one drill I have run into. A lot of coaches know about it and it is a great tool. It’s like “King of the Hill” but you are in little boxes, and you must win the 1 vs 1 battle in the box to move to the next box. Give them points—every box they make it through without losing the ball, they get a point. If they make it through all four or five or however many I have set up, I may give them ten points.

The 1 vs 1 Ladder improves technical, tactical and creative speed and quickness and one-on-one confidence:

X = Attacking player with a ball, O = Defender.  Each grid is 5x5 yards (or larger depending on skill level).  Attacking player tries to advance without losing the ball or having it get kicked out of the grid.  Attacker doesn’t need to wait for the defender in the next grid to be ready.  The goal is to get through each grid with creative speed, agility and quickness.

PC: You alluded to it earlier—the speed training needs to be quality. The quality of technique is very important. Now you get into these small-sided games, the one v. one progressive ladder, for example. How does the quality principle hold true? Does it become a little compromised to do what you are trying to do?

CV: It always becomes compromised because now there is real, game-related pressure. Whatever you worked on, especially at the beginning, is all going to fall apart. That is what learning is like. It is a stage of development for any player to take what they have learned and be able to execute it in a pressure situation. They are to keep focusing on staying consistent with the technique they are working on. Technique is compromised under pressure and you will see it even before you get to the game situations. You’ll see it once you get out of the speed ladder and have them execute a technique quickly. I use my stopwatch often to . I will see how many crossovers or movements they can do with the ball in, say 10 seconds. You’ll see them go back to their old habits. If you are not getting that lower level of technique or that abandon of technique, you are not challenging your players. You should expand and have them move onto something else.

PC: It’s the reality check. You are thrown into the lion’s den with all that pressure. I made mention of it from the standpoint that it is reality. You can only stick with perfect techniques for so long. It’s what is dealt to the player. The next phase is the “game action.” Can you comment on this?

CV: There are a couple of things I want to say about game action, with regard to parents, coaches, trainers, or anyone reading this article. Number one is to not kid yourself—it takes time. Any Athlete who is learning something new will revert to his/her old habits under pressure until they’ve built a strong foundation with the new technique.  The goal is to train the athlete into a new habit so when it occurs on the field, under pressure they move smooth, controlled and efficiently.  Jeremy Boone talks about building a new habit taking 500-700 repetitions of the proper technique. That is from ground zero (a new player with no bad habits).  And athletes with bad movement patterns/habits will take approximately 3,000 repetitions of the proper technique to build a new habit. That is the reality of it. Some players pick it up faster; but generally, it takes that long. You will start to get the habits of speed over six to eight months. If you want to refine and perfect speed, you need to do speed training for at least a year. I am talking about once a week and you are really committed to applying it. Most parents and players will not be able to do it more than once a week.

PC: How much time do you need to spend on speed training and how do you work it into practice?

CV: In the group sessions, we do 45-60 minutes of speed training including some ball work near the end, or speed games that cause the athletes to increase their mental quickness. For a soccer coach who trains their team twice a week, I use 20 minutes of speed training right after my warm up.  But twice a week like this is rarely enough to build a strong habit.  You really need to have one extra session just devoted to speed technique training.  Twenty minutes each practice, however, for a team that already has a strong foundation of technique and fitness, say like a college team, can give them the edge during their season.  There are several ways to design a speed program, I am talking about once a week speed training sessions for youth players. The speed trainer comes in once a week and then the coaches implement the speed training into 10-20 minutes of practice, depending the age group you are working with.

More Information Please!

Contact Chochi at chochi@socalspeedtrainers.com

The Soccer Speed Training Experts!
Based in Seattle, Washington & Covering the USA...
Tel :  206-288-3600
Email: speedwins@speedtrainersusa.com