Offseason Training for Soccer

When your season ends you should first take a week or two off. Let your body rest up and your mind be refreshed. Watch more movies then usual, read books, rest and relax. 

Sounds crazy I'm telling you to take time off, but taking a break makes you that much more hungry to train when you get started again. 

Set Offseason Goals:

You want to set offseason goals. Like I want to improve my shooting, my speed of play, my juggling. Pick 2-3 goals that you can accomplish. Write them down and post them on your bedroom wall! 

How often should you train?

Decide first why it is you are training. Are you training to make your high school team, travel team, college team, do you want to be pro? If you want to be pro you need to be training a lot more then someone who just wants to play on their high school team. 

My advice for the very serious player is to train 4 to 5 days a week for 1 to 2 hours a day. Give yourself at least 1 or 2 days off a week in the offseason. 

What should I work on?

You should work on your ball control, technique and speed of play. 80 percent of your training should be with the ball. 20 percent can be fitness but I recommend if you do fitness you do it with the ball. 

If you are 12 and under you really don't even need to think about fitness, which comes naturally through playing. As you get into your teenage years and older fitness becomes more of a factor.

Don't get me wrong being fit is important but for offseason training if you are a youth player, you don't need to worry about fitness until a few weeks before the season starts. It takes a few weeks to get fit. It takes years to have an amazing first touch and vision for the game! 

Create a Practice Plan

My advice is to create a practice plan so when you do train on your own you have a plan and are not making it up as you go. Use my Online Soccer Academy training videos and other videos on youtube to help create a plan. 

For example. Tuesday I will do an Online Soccer Academy 30 minute training session then work on my chipping technique for 15 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of juggling. That would be a good one-hour session. 

They key is you use your time wisely. Be creative; create your own practice plans! 

Have fun with it. There is no one-way to do a training session on your own. 

Bonus Tips!

Use a mini ball 10-15 minutes at the start of your sessions daily. Use it to practice your juggling, ball control and technique. Then when you move to the big ball, it will feel easier. Using a mini ball regularly will greatly increase your ball control and make you a better player!

Wear an ipod or music player while training by yourself! It gets lonely and sometimes un inspiring training on your own! Play some music to help keep you pumped up or listen to podcasts! 

If you are a teenager and you are mature enough to start working out at the gym then add gym sessions on top of your training schedule. Maybe 3-4 times a week. Focus more on upper body as you already train your legs a lot. Don't get me wrong you can do legs but don't be trying to rep out 500 pounds on the back squat everyday! 

Consult with a speed and strength coach to develop a gym session that is right for you! 

What Player Could Be Doing Wrong: 

If you are burnt out when your season starts you trained to hard in the offseason. You want to be fresh at start of the season, not tired, so make sure you adjust your training accordingly. Work hard of course, but make sure you are fresh and excited for the season to start! 

This Video Covers:
Offseason Training for Soccer - Soccer Workouts - Speed Exercises - Soccer Conditioning - 
Soccer Conditioning Drills - Soccer Fitness - Soccer Fitness Drills - Drills to Improve Speed - Soccer Workout