Soccer Conditioning: The Fitness Requirements Of Soccer Part 1

Soccer Conditioning: Introduction.

Have you noticed anything different these days when you watch soccer on television? Have you ever watched the Champions League and noticed a significant difference between the players on the big screen and the players playing in the corresponding local leagues?

Soccer players are evolving and becoming bigger, faster and stronger.  The modern players of today would physically destroy the stars of yesterday with just sheer strength and fitness. Watching top flight soccer and studying it for years, it is becoming increasingly clear that natural talent is no longer enough to make it to the big leagues. Just a quick observation, how many players do you see today playing top flight football that are overweight? If I was a betting man I wouldn’t hesitate to bet on zero. Overweight players today cannot filter through fitness programs. The game of soccer has changed considerably and is based on speed, endurance and fitness.

For a player to be successful in today’s game, optimum performance can only be achieved when talent is allied with hard work and scientific training programs. When you add these together you get soccer conditioning. Conditioning is one of the most important aspects of today’s game. Some might even argue that conditioning supersedes skill these days.

Analysing soccer performance is not that easy. Soccer requires skill, tactical awareness, courage, mental toughness and a great degree of physical conditioning. Physical conditioning can be dissected into smaller categories which include strength, speed, power, agility, endurance and co-ordination. The modern game of soccer requires you to become an athlete, like a gladiator preparing to enter the Colosseum. Gone are the days when large, overweight midfielders just distributed the ball from the same spot on the ground. These players have been filtered out through the laws of Evolution, which clearly state survival of the fitness.

What is required is a highly scientific approach to the game which effectively prepares players to perform at their peak. A true indicator to any soccer conditioning program is how well the training transfers to your soccer performance. It must be designed to maximise certain aspects of the game that have become prerequisites of the modern game.

Optimum development and progress through a training program can only take place when there is a balance between training and recovery. This is the first post of a series of posts I’ll be making on soccer fitness and conditioning. Make sure to follow this system in this blog. By following this system that is used throughout the big clubs of Europe, the kid that dreams of becoming a professional soccer player has every chance to reach his full potential and fulfill his childhood soccer dreams.