Thank you
Raffaele Tomarchio

This is a very complex topic. Here is a workout that can be done 3 times per week without fear of overdoing it or injuring the players. The best resource on the subject is the Performance Conditioning for Soccer newsletter, check their website www.performancecondition.com. San Francisco Bay Seals Body Weight Circuit 1) Jump to head a thrown ball back to thrower. Thrower should make the jumper jump as high as possible. Time throws so that jumper is continuously jumping as high as s/he can. 2) Continuous shuttle run between two cones set 20 yards apart. 3) Shoot against a wall, retrieve own shot, dribble at a sprint to a cone & shoot again. Continuous 4) Lunge jumps, player lunges forward with one leg, jumps as high as possible, switches front legs in midair, repeats continuously. Athletes should go no lower than 90 degree bend at front knee. 5) 3-man drill-Two servers stand 40 yards apart. Player in the middle with a ball passes to a server, following at a sprint. Server 1 touches the ball back, middle player turns with the ball and passes to the other server. Continuous 6)Same as #5, but servers pickup the ball and throw it so that it can be chested. Middle player chests and turns, then passes to the other server, following at a sprint. Continuous 7) 3-man drill with 2 balls-Servers throw the ball to middle player who sprints to the ball, jumps to head it back to the server, turns, sprints to the other server. Servers should throw to allow middle player to sprint 15-20 yards between each header. Continuous 8) Same as #7, but throwers throw the ball to be chested, then volleyed back to the server. Continuous 9) Same as #7, but throwers send the ball knee high to be volleyed back to server. Continuous 10) Same as #2, shuffle sideways left, sideways right, then run backwards. Change at each cone.

This circuit is useful for training and testing. For training, begin with 15 seconds work, 45 seconds rest, for a 1/3 work to rest ratio. Progress to 30 second work intervals. By putting players in groups of four, which work sequentially, you will get the desired work/rest intervals. All groups do the same exercise. When all four athletes have done the exercise once, move all groups to the next exercise. A long rest between work intervals is critical for keeping the intensity high. If this amount of rest is insufficient, you should shorten work intervals, not lower the intensity. In the 3-man drill, the 4th player is out for one interval, then rotated in. Intensity is 100%, you should not tolerate less. Intensity is what makes a workout aerobic vs. anaerobic, and this one is very anaerobic. This is important to obtain the physiological adaptations you desire, and so that your athletes will internalize the concept that high-level soccer is played this way. You should not tolerate technical mistakes as players get tired. One of the characteristics of a high level player is that their game can withstand 90 minutes of effort without technical breakdowns. You should be working towards that standard.

Tom Phillips

You may contact Coach Phillips at his e-mail address:
gtphillips01@earthlink.net