12 Month Soccer Training Program

Soccer is a physically and mentally demanding sport; a well-thought-out soccer-training program must reflect that. Soccer players must perform with short bursts of power and speed and have the ability to keep going for 80 minutes or more. A soccer-training program should be individually tailored to your needs and your resources. All the training theory, the perfect 12-month fitness regime, it all flies out the window if you simply do not have the time (or the inclination) to train three or four days a week. Start with what you have available. Think about what you want to achieve in soccer. Take the time to prepare now and you will reap the rewards on the soccer field.

Step 1 -- Ask yourself honestly how much time you are willing to commit to your soccer-training program. Then take a bit off to account for over enthusiasm!

Step 2 -- What is your current level of conditioning? Be more precise than "fit" or "unfit". Which elements of fitness do you need to work on most? Speed? Strength? Endurance? If you do not know develop a series of simple fitness tests to find out. For example the Cooper is a 12-minute endurance test, 20 -40-yard sprints, T shuttle, or any of the many fitness test you can find online. You can do these in one afternoon and its well worth the effort. Of all the different types of soccer training you could perform (strength training, speed training, skill work etc.) 20% will make 80% of the difference to your game. Stay on the right side of the 80/20 principles. Build your soccer-training program around those areas that need the most improvement, especially if your time is limited.

Even if you only play 4 months of the year, your soccer-training program should stretch the entire 12 months. The first thing to do is split up your program into 4 distinct phases;

Early Pre-Season

Late Pre-Season

In-Season

Transitional or Off-Season

If you simply want to improve your fitness over the summer - ready for tryouts next season - base your program on the late pre-season phase.

Early Pre-Season (4-6 weeks)

Professional players might not see a ball for the first half of the pre-season. The emphasis is on preparing yourself for the more demanding, late pre-season soccer training. At this early stage keep things light and not too demanding. The last thing you should do is dive straight into all out, stomach wrenching interval training!

Endurance Training
Stick to predominantly continuous type training. This is lower intensity aerobic conditioning. Continuous training should be the only form of endurance training you perform for the first 2-3 weeks. You will need to transition in to more intense interval training the closer you get to the late preseason stage.

Strength Training
You want to develop maximum strength a few weeks before the start of the competitive season. Why? Before you can develop explosive power and even speed you must first develop a solid strength base. Maximum strength can take up to 12 weeks to develop so if strength is a priority for you, start your strength training during the transitional or off-season.

Flexibility
Do not under estimate the importance of flexibility in a soccer-training program. Unfortunately most soccer players do. Flexibility training is essential for recovery and injury prevention. The best players in the World are useless on the sidelines! There are many stretching exercises you can use to increase your range of movement. Remember that stretching to improve flexibility is not the same as stretching during a warm up. There are some key differences.

Skill And Tactical Training
The amount of skill work you do at this stage depends on the amount of time you have available. Athletes that can perform demanding fitness training will have a relatively high level of skill. Having said that, you can never stop trying to improve!

Late Pre-Season (4-6 weeks)

A word of warning - these few weeks might have you asking, "Why didn't I take up golf?" but this is the phase of your soccer training program that will have the greatest impact on your game from a fitness perspective.

Endurance Training
By now, all of your endurance training should be in the form of interval training. Your soccer training should also become more specific during the late pre-season. Try to match the movement patterns you would find in a typical match. For example; keep the intervals short and intense, include twists and turns and running backwards, train on both turf and grass, juggle a ball during active recovery periods etc.

Strength Training
Decrease the number of strength sessions and replace them with power training sessions such as polymeric. Polymeric training can be extremely effective at developing power and explosive off-the-mark speed but is not suitable for everyone. Again, do not worry too much if "polymeric training" means nothing to you. We are still on the "big 12-month picture".

Speed Training
As the competitive season draws closer your soccer training should place more and more emphasis on quickness and sharpness. Again your conditioning must be soccer specific. Vary your sprint starts for example, by running backwards for a few yards first, jumping to head a ball or controlling and passing a ball before sprinting etc.

Flexibility
As the volume and intensity of your soccer training increases flexibility training becomes even more essential.

Skill And Tactical Training
Combine skill work with some of your fitness training to save time. If you plan on an intense interval training session do your skill work first. If you plan to combine polymeric or sprint drills with skill work always perform the polymeric or sprints first. It goes without saying a good dynamic warm up should precede all of these.

In-Season Training

The goal here is to maintain the fitness you developed during preseason. Regular, competitive matches maintain basic levels of endurance so any additional soccer training should concentrate on speed, power and anaerobic endurance development. For the most part your coaches will guide this period of time and provide you feedback on any additional training required outside of normal practices.

Priority of Training

This table gives a quick reference as to how all the different elements of soccer fitness integrate over three of the four stages of the training year.

Priority Of Fitness Elements in a Soccer Training Program
Early Pre-Season / Late Pre-Season / In-Season
Continuous training / High / Low / Low
Interval training / Low / High / Maintenance
Strength training / High / Moderate / Low
Power training / High / Moderate / Maintenance
Speed training / Low / High / Maintenance
Flexibility training / High / High / High

Transitional or Off Season Training

This is the longest phase and the easy phase to fail. Avoid abandoning all forms of physical conditioning activities now the season has ended. If you do nothing for six weeks much of the hard work you've put in over the last season will be lost. Embrace that the next season starts the day after the previous season ended. Do what professional players are advised to do - Cross training or X-training, as it's also known. You will need to participate in other forms of physical activity that keeps your fitness level high and gives you a physical and mental break from soccer. Swimming, cycling, tennis, basketball are good alternatives. Try to exercise 3 – 4 times a week for at least 60 minutes with a good flexibility session of 15 - 20 minutes at the end.

Here is a table that sums up a soccer-training year that covers the 12-month calendar.

Phases In A 12 Month Soccer Training Program
Month / May / Jun / Jul / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr
Phase / TS / TS / EPS / LPS / IS / IS / IS / TS / TS / TS / TS / TS

TS = Transitional or Off-season, EPS = Early pre-season, LPS = Late pre-season, IS = In season.

Splitting your soccer-training program up this way really is the most effective approach to being at your peak when most needed. This is a guide, there are many resources that can assist you in developing a program that you can actually accomplish. The specific training exercises and schedule that go along with this particular program can be found on our website under the 12 month soccer training program.

Respectfully,

Coach Martinez

2/23/16 9:50 AM Page 1 of 3