Up Downs Conditioning Drill

Of all the football conditioning drills, downs are one of the most popular. This drill involves having players run in place as fast and hard as they can. Then, at random, a coach will yell, “down” or blow a whistle in which players must drop to the ground, do a push-up, and then run back in place. This exercise is an excellent workout and should be worked on slowly at first and then increased in intensity and duration over time.

The correct way to catch a high soccer ball

As a receiver, or any player who is going to catch a pass, you know that not all passes go straight to the chest. Because of the variety of passes you can receive, here are some basics for catching high passes: First and foremost, reach your arms out and hold your hands together in a diamond shape to catch that ball. Never catch or try to catch a ball with your body, especially a high ball. Once you have your hands around the ball, don’t take your eyes off the ball, follow it straight into your crease. When you practice a high catch, you will unconsciously do it on the field, so remember to extend your arms, catch and continue.

Conditioning: Point Drilling

Conditioning exercises are effective in training and helping athletes become strong and reactive. The intent of this drill is to help speed and accuracy on the field, which will reduce errors and increase the chances of big plays. To run the exercise, you will need a spot with five dots, either marked on the grass or on a rug, forming an x-shape much like the dots on the five-side of dice.

The athlete starts at the edge of the mat by placing the feet on two of the outer points and proceeds to jump with the feet together at the center point and then quickly jumps back out to the outer points similar to a simple hopscotch motion. The second phase is to have the player touch each of the points with only one foot and then switch to the other foot. The next step is to jump on all five points with both feet together. The last phase actually returns to the original start phase of jumping together and apart, however this time the athlete will change direction after they have jumped to the outer points. Because this drill is intended for accuracy and speed, it is recommended that players start slowly and deliberately and then speed up to their maximum time.

Some fundamentals of ball safety

One of the fundamental aspects of running with a soccer ball is the safety of the ball. Nothing is worse for your offensive team than carelessly giving it to the other team on a fumble. There are four points to protect the ball. First pick up the soccer ball in your leading hand with the tips of the ball covered with your fingers. The second point is your forearm wrapped around the ball and protecting it from the defense. The third point is to have the ball tight against the biceps to prevent defenders from hitting from behind. The end point is to keep the ball high and tight against your rib cage. Practice holding the ball and having defensive players try to knock the ball out by any means possible. By reducing the risk of a fumble, you will increase offensive force by effectively traversing the field and scoring touchdowns.