Stamina is a huge factor in the game of soccer. Unlike hockey where the players take shifts or baseball where you take half inning breaks from standing in the outfield, soccer requires constant motion up and down a regulation field measuring 100 yards long by 60 yards wide. The fitter the player and his team the longer and faster they will be able to play at their A level.

Stamina is what separates the pros from the weekenders who play soccer. In matches like the FA Cup where there is no such thing as a draw, players are required to go all out for the full ninety minutes. Coaches at all levels need to work on stamina training with their clubs in order to maintain a high level of fitness for the entire soccer season. Stamina and strength go hand in hand on the soccer pitch. A player needs strength and the ability to play a complete game while moving in spurts and starts all over the field.

Warming up before any practice or game is crucial in the prevention of injury. Imagine your star player earning $75,000 a week while he is sitting on the bench with a pulled hamstring because he didn’t stretch properly before pushing himself.

Loosen up with five minutes of jogging in place. Follow that with a series of exercises such as jumping jacks, heel flicks and high knee steps. Finally, stretch it all out for roughly five minutes. All of these will help to improve your agility and stamina over time. Try running at different paces (especially fun for kids). Start with a fast run, slow it down to a fast walk then revert back to jogging. This will simulate game situations and help to preserve the player’s energy. Here is a list of warm-up standards any athlete is familiar with: crunches, resistance bands, squats thrusts with weights and push ups.

The following is an example of working out your legs and mid-torso: start jogging for five minutes, try sprinting for 20 yards, slow it down to a jog for 300 yards,  turn around and run backwards for 20 yards, face front again and sprint for 30 yards, walk it off for about 50 yards and then finish up with a short 300 yard or so jog. When you have finished with this phase of your warm-up stretch out your calves, quads, lower back, groin and most importantly, your hamstrings.

Because soccer requires such an extreme level of stamina, endurance training is an integral part of a soccer training program at any level. How do you think the players on your team will feel late in a game when their opponents are fading and they still have the energy to finish off a winning match? Endurance training means lots of aerobic exercises to reduce the strain on your heart and keep you playing for longer and longer periods of time.

Soccer players need stamina training. We have established that but how do they go about accomplishing that increased endurance needed on the soccer field? Cycling is a sport that will build up leg muscles and provide aerobic exercise. Jogging and hill running will work as well. Think about stair climbing in some taller buildings or a sports stadium.

If the player is serious about his strength and endurance training he might invest in some equipment such as a stair climber, treadmill or cross-trainer. Sprint training can be accomplished through the sprint-walk-jog formula described earlier.

Sprinting requires a lot of upper body strength. This is where strength training comes into play. Circuit and weight training will help to build up those pecs.

Here is a list of common activities you can do to increase your endurance:

• A full squat using your own body weight
• Clean and press three quarters of your weight overhead – remember to build up to these weights
• Curl half your weight
• Try 40 press-ups in a minute or less
• How about 40 bent-knee abdominals in under one minute
• Now 40 squat thrusts in about one minute
• Finally, Eight chin-ups (male) or three chin-ups (female).

None of these are easy feats. Stamina can only be increased by completing circuits of continuous activity at low to moderate intensities for three minutes or more. Stamina training can also include distance events where the athlete has to try to run a distance of 3000-5000 metres at about 70 to 75 per cent of maximal heart rate for optimum aerobic benefits.

Soccer Fitness

When you think of building a strong, muscular physique what kind of exercises do you think of trying? To get better and develop strength most people focus on lifting weights – exercises like bench presses, push ups and flies – that key in on powerful pushing and pulling motions.

Cardiovascular activity usually takes the back seat, when it comes to building strength – unless you’re playing a sport that needs a lot of endurance training, or if you want to loose surplus body fat besides improving your strength.

Stretching, unfortunately isn’t even put in the strength increasing category because the majority of us assume that since it’s a low intensity activity it’s only for cooling off after our workouts. However stretching isn’t just a great way to cool down – believe me it can really help make you
stronger.

The benefits of stretching have a number of effects on your weightlifting progress. Just remember when you stretch you should feel slight pulling in your muscles, but no pain!

Stretching is your secret to the following fitness pluses:

Increased Strength

Stretching really helps to boost your muscular strength because it increases your range of motion, and range of motion literally applies to weightlifting. For instance when you lift in a larger range of motion in comparison to a smaller range, you’re enlisting the help of more fibers, making your muscles stronger.

Reduced Stress

People know that stretching helps decrease the stress and tension in our exercised muscles, but were you aware that a quick 20-minute routine of stretching can also let loose most of the tension that built up during a whole workday?

Improved Posture

Flexible muscles are your secret to sound posture, since stretching allows for balanced muscle tone in all the primary joints in the body. This affects your strength training because good posture limits stress and pain in the muscles and joints, allowing you to get back to the gym sooner.

Improved Speed & Reaction Time

If you’re an athlete you understand how crucial agility is to top performance. Flexible muscles make you faster on your feet. This makes it easier for you to run faster in sports like soccer; react quicker by making saves in hockey and by running around opponents in football.

Decreased Muscle Soreness

This means a reduced amount of time off from the gym and your sport, and more time to dedicate to building those muscles.

Ease of Movement

If you’re not an athlete, don’t worry. Stretching does more than increase sports performance. It makes regular every day jobs easier as well, by decreasing the common stiffness in joints so you can bend down, reach up and pick up things simply. Stretching will also enhance the condition of your joints by making you less likely to develop joint soreness later in life.

Reduces Chances of Injury

More nimble muscles give you less probability of hurting stiff muscles during training. Case in point, your hamstrings, the muscles that go down the back of your upper legs. I like to compare the hamstrings to a rubber band: the nimble hamstring has a lot of stretch whereas the tight hamstring is that dried up elastic that snaps when it’s stretched too far.