[Beau Hains, MS is the Director of Team Training at Athletic Lab]

In my last blog, I wrote about Developing Aerobic Capacity. Now, my aim is to build upon those concepts and to apply them more specifically to developing fitness for soccer. Soccer is a very demanding sport that is played on a large pitch with very few periods of true rest. This creates a dynamic in which players are essentially running non-stop, often upwards to 7+ miles, and for 90+ minutes. Over the course of the game, soccer players will be required to sprint at high velocities, jump explosively, change direction, and more. Performing these feats at a high level for 90+ minutes will require an exceptional amount of endurance.

Assessments and Application

Aerobic capacity is critical for performing at a high level for the entire duration of a game, but that is only one piece of the puzzle. In order to be truly match ready, you must also address the need for the anaerobic system. By developing the anaerobic system, you can certainly increase endurance, but you can also address key areas such as balance, acceleration, speed, agility, and more.

In order to optimally develop soccer fitness, you must first establish a baseline. This can be done by performing a series of performance tests. You will certainly want to administer a multitude of performance tests, highlighting and identifying all key performance indicators. However, in an effort to stay on the topic of soccer fitness, I only want to address the performance tests that I feel are most directly related to that area. This is not to say that other tests are not just as important, I simply want to stay on topic.

When assessing fitness levels, there are many tests to choose from, and they all have their merits. When determining which fitness tests are most appropriate, I like to break them into two categories:

  • Skill oriented
  • Fitness oriented

Skill oriented fitness tests include tests like the Hoff Shuttle Run, and are designed to test speed, endurance, and agility with a ball. These tests are highly specific to soccer and can provide a great assessment for technical proficiency under a fatigued state. However, due to the high technical demand, this also makes it difficult to pinpoint if a player lacks endurance or if they simply lack technical proficiency.

Fitness oriented tests include tests like the 20m Shuttle Run Beep Test, YoYo IR1/IR2, 30-15 IFT, and Time Trials (for desired time or distance). Although these tests may be less skill specific, they provide an objective assessment of player fitness levels. By effectively isolating fitness from technical proficiency, you are then able to implement a fitness program that best suits each player on an individual basis.

It is for this reason that one of my preferred fitness tests for soccer, is the 20m Shuttle Run Beep Test (SRBT). While the aforementioned tests can be just as effective for the objective assessment of fitness levels, the 20m SRBT can also be used to establish a Maximal Aerobic Speed (MAS) score (this was broken down in my previous article) for the athletes.

While the MAS score is not the be-all and end-all in developing soccer fitness, it can be used to individualize your program. After establishing individual MAS scores, you can split the athletes into groups according to their scores. This allows for a much more controllable training environment and it will help to ensure that your athletes are both training and progressing at a rate relative to their own level of fitness.

This individual programming can be adjusted in two ways. The first is by manipulating run times. Each athlete would cover the same distance, but those with lower MAS scores would be allotted more time to cover that distance. The second way to adjust individual programming would be by manipulating run distance. Each athlete would run for the same amount of time, but those with lower MAS scores would have to cover less distance in that time.

I have found that both methods can be effective, but given a choice between the two, I typically elect to keep the run times the same and prescribe individual distances. This keeps the athletes on the same work to rest ratios and allows for more logistical control of the training session.

Soccer Fitness Drills

To achieve an appropriate training response, you should first consider using drills that transfer well to the game of soccer. To get the most out of these drills, they should be comprised of both aerobic and anaerobic system development, as well as some sort of change of direction and agility.

By utilizing appropriate intensities, durations, and work to rest ratios; which I touched on in my previous article, there are numerous conditioning drills that can be used effectively. As long as you adhere to those training principles, you can then customize your drills in any way that best fits your individual program or athlete needs.

These drills include:

  • Extensive Tempo Runs
  • Intensive Intermittent Runs
  • Intensive Intervals
  • Grid Runs
  • Repeat Sprints
  • Shuttle Runs
  • Pattern Runs

I feel as though it is best to combine soccer technical skills with fitness needs by biasing more towards simple ball skills. This allows for a sport specific component to be incorporated without detracting from the stimulus that you are trying to achieve. This method is best used when developing fitness is the primary purpose of the drill. Each of the above drills can be easily modified to incorporate simple change of direction, shuffles, ball skills, etc. without compromising the training stimulus that you are trying to achieve.

The opposite can also be achieved by applying those principles to drills that are primarily for skill acquisition. It is worth noting that this can still be very effective for developing fitness; however, it then becomes more difficult to control and monitor training loads and intensity if not carefully planned for.

Summary

Developing high levels of fitness can have a tremendous impact on one’s ability to compete at a high level for the entire duration of a game. While there are various ways to assess and increase fitness levels, developing soccer fitness can be as simple or complex as you need it to be. The “best” way is the one that is most appropriate for the level of the individual athlete and their inherent needs at that time.

References

  • Gatz, G. (2009). Complete Conditioning for Soccer. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
  • Jovanovic, M. (2018). HIIT Manual High Intensity Interval Training and agile periodization. Michigan, USA: Ultimate Athlete Concepts.”