Off-Season Soccer Training

My time as a strength and conditioning coach at Averett (pronounced A-VER-ETTE)University has been invaluable. I feel that as a coach, getting on the court, field or weight room experience with athletes is the best way to learn how to teach. During my time I gained knowledge in the following areas:

- programming of in-season and pre-season athletic teams
- training programs that needed to be creative, due to equipment, size of the weight room, and number of athletes that needed to be trained in a timely manner
- working with coaches, discussing how their practices have been going to find the best times to hit the weights hard and when to back off a bit
- the cues and techniques that work best when teaching lifts
- proper progressions for athletes who have had little to no experience with strength training

Most importantly, the coaches trusted me in what I was doing and the teams bought in to the benefits of strength training.

There is no such thing as the perfect program, especially when your dealing with teams that numbered in the 30's. I know now that what I had the teams doing was ok, certainly better than nothing, and much more than other teams were doing. But as any coach should, I've continued to learn as much as I possibly can and my training style has changed accordingly.

I am still in contact with these coaches and continue to consult with them on their strength training. What follows is an outline of what I have sent to the women's soccer team at Averett. I was told that about half of the team will not have access to a weight room while they are home for the summer, so I will also be posting some training ideas of what I will give them with little equipment necessary.

Even though this is a program designed for female soccer players, I know it can be beneficial for men and women who are looking to gain strength, speed and athleticism.

"Warm-up" - This is not a traditional warm-up of jogging a lap and stretching, but works on areas that are issues with many athletes.

Foam Rolling
Stretching
Mobility work for the ankles, hips, shoulders and thoracic spine
Core work - exercises focused on anti-extension and anti-rotation of the core, upper back strengthining and glute activation

Strength work
Day 1
- hip dominant lower body
- upper body push
- knee dominant single leg
- upper body pull
- hip accessory - hamstring focused
- upper body push

Day 2
- explosive full body
- upper body pull
- hip dominant lower body
- upper body push
- knee dominant lower body
- upper body pull

Day 3
- knee dominant lower body
- upper body push
- hip dominant single leg
- upper body pull
- hip accessory - hamstring focused
- upper body push

There are 6 exercises in each day, and all of the strength work is done in an A1, A2 fashion (if you're doing 3 sets, you perform A1, then A2, then back to A1 for 3 total sets of each, then to B1).
Throughout the summer, intensity and volume increases, and then volume will decrease for another increase in intensity.

I will be posting some video's for the team so that they can get explanations of the exercises throughout the summer. Most of the exercise selections were based on those I have taught them, with a couple new ones, as well.

If you are interested in the specifics of the program, please email me. I would be more than happy to discuss the program with anybody who would like to know more.

Any questions or comments, hit me up on facebook. And be sure to check back for video's of new exercises!

Thanks for reading! Go Cougars!