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Although Soccer is seen as a fun and easy sport to learn, the foundations of soccer can vary  enormously  . Soccer also known as football is a  game played in 2, 45 minute halves  . Each team defends its goals while trying to penetrate the opposing goal. The  demands  of the game are simple, two goals, a ball and legs that bend at the knees. What better way to have fun .

For those that want to pursue a career in soccer will definitely need to master other aspects of the game. Although the rules of the game never change, the obstacles and complexity of the game act like a big filter which will inevitably eliminate most players before they reach their full potential.

So what are the foundations of Soccer?

Motivation - No one can train for you, can they? No one else can improve your game. Motivation is an important aspect of soccer and one that gets mentioned the least.

Training - In order to improve, you need to practice and train. You need to improve your levels of physical fitness and improve your physical strength.

Nutrition - You need to eat a healthy and well balanced diet that will allow your body to train at high intensities. You also need the right nutrients to aid in your recovery.

Soccer Drills - The best way to improve your passing, shooting and dribbling is through repetition. Drills are ideal for practicing a technique through repetition and allow you to master certain aspects of the game. Remember to practice, practice, and practice.

Weight Training – (soccer strength training) In order to compete at your maximum for 90 minutes, you will need to condition your muscles for 90 minutes of sprinting, jogging, walking, changing directions and even running backwards. Lifting weights will definitely give you an advantage in the last 10 minutes of a game when your opponents start to tire.

Psychology - ”Team Spirit” is probably the most underrated aspect of the game. Your coach and team should always make you feel like a winner, not a loser, irrespective of the score line.

Your thoughts and what you talk about around your team mates affects your performance and plays a significant role in the levels of confidence you have. Remember to always feed yourself positive thoughts to maintain confidence and increase your levels of enjoyment.

Enjoyment & Fun - If you enjoy soccer and are having fun, chances are you’ll remain in the game. Playing Soccer for long periods of time is the only way to improve and take your game to the next level. This will inevitably give you every chance to play the game professionally

Strength training is important to helping athletes get faster. The stronger the athlete the more easily he will be able to carry and move his body weight. At some point, however, his strength will be sufficient and any additional improvements in speed will depend largely on the contraction speed of his muscles, that is, how fast his muscles can contract.

With regards to sprinting speed, strength training works only if you are able increase your strength without increasing your body weight too much. Take for example running; many athletes hit the gym real hard doing squats, leg presses, leg curls etc, along with upper body workouts as well. If you increase the amount of weight you can squat, let’s say from 200lb to 250lb, and you are able to maintain your body weight while doing so, (let’s say 190 lb), then you should be able to move your body faster, and run faster. But, if you pack on an additional 5-10 lbs of muscle weight, you may not see any improvement in your athletic speed.

Another drawback of extensive strength training is that it could actually decrease the contraction speed of your muscles and offset any speed gains related to strength, and it could therefore cause you to sprint slower.

Most athletes who have been lifting weights for a while find themselves at the point where their strength is near the max needed for their body weight or any other resistance involved in their sports skill. Doing more strength training won’t help too much with speed at this point, though it is still a good thing to maintain the strength you have. At this point, here are a few options you have to get faster:

You can continue to push yourself to get stronger while keeping a close eye on your weight and your muscle speed. It can work, but it can take a long time and much effort to see modest improvement.

You can try to drop a few pounds while trying to maintain your strength. This isn’t always easy to do, though it should be considered.
Or you could focus specifically on developing muscle contraction speed. This is best accomplished by conditioning the muscle fibers responsible for contraction speed, which are not the same fibers responsible for muscle strength.

Speed training workouts that use isometric training with the resistance band improve the speed in which your muscles contract. This speed training method retrains your muscles for a fast twitch response while at the same time increasing the strength and improving the elasticity of the muscle tendons.

This last option allows for much more dramatic improvements in athletic speed in much less time than simply increasing the size and weight of your muscles.

What can you expect by increasing your vertical jumping? The answer lies in the sport you play and if it’s required to outperform other players. In basketball, your capabilities of strong vertical jumping is everything in relation to your jump shots, blocks, and rebounds. You can be an underdog if you cannot reach up and above competitors for rebounds because rebounds determine the success of a game.

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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. Read the rest of this entry