I really like the Mia Ham Quote at the top. It pretty much sums it up, on why you should train. Training for Soccer is more than just kicking a soccer ball around - it's about improving your overall athleticism. In today's era of sports, athletes are so much more developed in overall athleticism. We see it all the time where the athletes who have more speed, more power, more strength, better agility, and a faster reaction time dominant their opponent and sport. The most athletic athletes are not necessarily the most skillful athletes. What they lack in soccer skill they make up for with speed; being the first one to the loose ball; stronger and quicker which allows them to defend better. The good news is that athleticism can be developed in the hands of a skilled Sports Performance Coach.
The first step that needs to be taken when developing a better athlete is to define athleticism. I define athleticism as "the ability to use a variety of motor abilities (strength, power, speed, agility, coordination, stability, flexibility, balance, energy system.) to effectively and efficiently perform a wide variety of sporting actions." Athleticism is not just one component. You can not just train speed nor can you just get stronger. The training program must be designed so that all the motor abilities (strength, power, speed, agility, coordination, stability, flexibility, balance, energy system) are being trained in a systematic way that progresses the athlete to a more improved athlete.
One of the biggest mistakes we make when training athleticism is that we put athletes in groups of 20 or more. How can true athleticism be achieved if every athlete is doing the same drill and or progression? Yes, their will be some improvement in athleticism but in the end, athletes will not be allowed to reach their real potential. It is very hard to give feedback to each and every athlete during the training session. When the groups are big, the tempo must be high so that athletes are not just standing around, which means that some athletes will be neglected. Usually the neglected athletes are the ones you struggle with each drill and tend to be the last ones in each line.
Athletic Republic of North Louisiana: Monroe & Shreveport recognizes that a training program must be individualized. Our groups are no bigger than 5 athletes per coach and with team training the ratio is 6 athletes per coach. Every athlete/team is tested before their training sessions begins. The data that we collect from our test allows us to develop a training program that will be tailored and specific to the needs of each and every athlete.
The Soccer Speed Program that we have at ARNLA is dedicated to developing true athleticism in your soccer player or team. Click Here to see some soccer specific training going on at our Monroe Facility.
For more info about setting up your athlete or team for 2 FREE training sessions call:
AR Shreveport 318.869.1600
AR Monroe 318.323.1613
