Online Soccer Speed, Strength and Conditioning Training: How It Works For You

21 Sep Online Soccer Speed, Strength and Conditioning Training: How It Works For You

“You’re going to be with me for a while.”

This is the opener I tell every potential online athlete.

Of course, I also slip in the, “we’re going to discuss life during Zoom check-ins” or “meditation for as many reps as possible is in your program” or “you need to commit for a minimum of six months to see the most improvement.”

Sometimes, I get crickets chirping.

Sometimes, I get jaws dropping.

And sometimes, I get a freezing response as if they’re having an encounter with the Night King.

You see, if anyone is going to sign up for online soccer performance training, rather than it being a transaction, I want it to be a transformation.

I’m talking long-term.

As long as Frodo’s trek to Mount Doom long-term.

As long as smoking beef brisket long-term.

As long as watching paint dry long-term
For the laws of exercise physiology to do their thing, namely, for motor skill learning to happen, technique to be taught, then for strength to be built, then speed and power to be increased, and even, growth spurts to be finished, online athletes need a long timeline to develop and see the gains from their online training.

Especially if I’m working with a youth female athlete new to resistance training, the first month or two will be teaching months to hammer down technique on the big movements, like Squats, Lunges, Pull-Ups, Push-Ups, Bear Crawling, and Vertical Jumps.

In this article Girls, Growth, and GAINZ, you see that the female athlete growth spurt needs to run its course for speed, agility and strength gains to take place in conjunction with a progressive strength and speed training program.

After the growth spurt finishes, then gains in strength begin to happen.

This occurs primarily from increase in muscle mass, the main driver of force production and a more powerful and explosive body.

As you can see, there are several pieces of the performance pie that improve from the combination of the female athlete growth spurt, as well as gradual strength training that meets them where they are.

Of course, stagnation may happen at any point due to several factors, increase in team practices and nervous system duress, lack of de-load weeks, or the need for a change up with velocity based training (more advanced for female high school upperclassmen).

I’ve found at about the six month mark, it’s good to regroup, reflect on the progress, then set new goals, and add in new challenging stimuli.

But let’s start from the beginning.

If you’re new, we will hone in on movement quality and coordination.

If you’ve mastered coordination and technique, then it’s time to progress with various stimuli for acceleration and speed development.

And if you’ve stuck with me for several months and enjoyed our conversations about life coupled with intense training, you’re ready for improving performance measures as we go along:

The top performance measures for online training for soccer are Broad Jump, 3x Broad Jump, and various double and single leg plyometric tests for elasticity and lower body power.

The top measures for movement quality are Max Crawling and the Lunge Hold for total body strength, pelvic stability and single leg strength.

For speed and acceleration, the Timed 10, Timed 20 and Timed 30 and 40 Yard dashes.

For mental confidence, it’s simply showing up to the Zoom check ins to take inventory of your life (stress, nutrition, sleep, etc) and to engage in discussions and exchange insights with other athletes on the call.

Online training is hard and it takes autonomy, but it’s a rewarding process for both myself and the athlete.

For one, they have to do the work on their own time, namely, nail down a routine that works for them and the time they feel at their best to get their workout in.

For some, it’s right after school.

For others, it’s first thing in the day.

The best part is, the athlete chooses and and adjust on a week-by-week basis.

And on my end, I write the program, outline specific sets and reps, upload the exercise videos to the phone app, and then…

Bippity boppity boo!

The program is set, the athlete doesn’t have to use any more mental space trying to piece it together, and they’re on their way to the magical fairy land of remote training.

It’s easy.

It’s structured.

For those of you wondering if you should hire an online trainer, these are the best questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I willing to put in the work on my own?
2. Am I willing to commit long-term for my desired results (speed, strength, explosiveness)?
3. Am I willing to check in weekly or bi-weekly for Zoom meetings?
4. Am I willing to treat this as seriously as my sports practices?

If you answered, ‘yes’ then you’re ready.

Happy training. 🙂

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