Is there any need (as certain periods — SPP) to include a ball work in tempo sessions?
Example A:
Put the athletes in pairs of two. During the run, they passes a ball btw themself. During a rest period they pass the ball in place, juggle, play with head etc.
Example B:
Put a soccer ball on the line. Athlete do one distance with a ball (bribble), then 2 distances without it. During a rest, he can do medball passes and maybe slams, push-ups, abs, or juggle with a soccer ball (depends if it is on the same side)
Is there any need to bring “specificity” into tempo workouts during pre-season periods to “play in” the athletes???
Looks good Duxx. I have had my soccer athletes do tempo with the ball for a while. The more contact they have with the ball the better. I have to watch and make sure that they don’t overdo it during their rest from sprints though. They get a bit carried away sometimes.
One of mine friends who played soccer for a while gave me one tip: intensity or difficulty can be modified by changing the number of foot contacts with the ball (as you have pointed out): on one step, on two steps, distance of the ball from the player etc.
BTW, what do you think to implement now and there (in couple or sets) a BACKWARD tempo run??? Thanks
Tempo can take many forms. If light core work with a medicine ball can be considered tempo I can’t see why running backwards couldn’t. I think that tempo can be used like Tai Chi in a way (sounds funny, but I am not joking at all). The slower one can perform a movement, supposedly the faster they can perform it. Slow, relaxed backwards running can help with faster backwards funning in my opinion. I used to do a punching and blocking routine with a friend of mine in Karate at a fairly slow, but consistent speed. My actual fighting improved quite a bit because of it.
I think to implement (as I did with basketball players) a tempo medball, where the players jog back and forth (20-30m) and pass a medball btw themself in various patterns. I will try Charlies Medball workout too if the wheather starts to cause trouble
I say the more contact the merrier. Once they know the drills, the complexity disappears, and the same drills can be used in practice warms-ups as well as tempo. A few simple tempo runs are fine. Thousands of simple tempo runs over a season are booooorrring. The drills aren’t going to do a whole lot for making the players better players, and simple tempo will be just as effective, but athletes need to be entertained these days. And that is a whole nuther forum topic.
BTW, how do you plan the intensity of tempo for the whole team of 25 players???
I got in a heavy argument/fight with one of mine good friend and a great young coach about individualizing tempo runs…
Is there any need to split the players into groups of simmilar tempo time (70%) or not? What about planning approapriate distance for an athlete?
Or to do a basic tempo progression with everyone, gain a “fundament” and then via soccer practices to “individualize” it? For example, limiting tempo runs to 18sec for 100m and 38secs for 200m runs (100+100) for everyone?
Yes and no - I don’t agree more contact is necessarily a good thing and not for the more advanced player. So, in a professional set up I don’t think this is an issue.
My guiding principle in creating tempo more “specific” by implementing the ball work, is the law of sport form development. It basically say that the ratios btw general/general specific/specific means “guide” the athletes to the achievement, maintenance and break down of sport form.
I am not saying that everything should become more specific as the COMP periods approaches (or pre-season, in-season), but introducing more drills with more “specificity” may help here… Also, there is time when you must avoid this approach etc
For example, using this principle, speed work may become more specific as the COMP approaches, thus you can switch from hills to pitch sled runs to accelerations from various positions (lying, jogging, jumps, skips…) to mirror drills. Metabolic conditoning can progress from repeated-sprints toward more strenuous and more specific small-sided games etc…
Yes ball in middle, throw to outside and run to the side you threw the ball. We called them “3 man weave” when i played. The fact that you have to think takes thier mind off of the running. As for stuff with the ball, i think the only reason you do it is to “fool” (not too hard with soccer players!) the athlete into doing some endurance work! Endless reps may bore them otherwise?
Some experts do all the things with the ball, including sprint training (chase the ball then 1on1 etc)… Don’t know how smart this is… it depends on athlete level…
Duxx, what level of athlete are you working with? For less advanced players I would definately use a soccer ball for tempo. The more motor learning the players get the better. Even with more advanced athletes, like others have mentioned, the ball can be used to combat boredom. Experiment with different drills and just make sure they are not pushing the intensity too high.
Also, what are you doing as far as conditioning? Just out of curiosity.
I should start working (on monday 8.january) with advanced players as head S&C for one second league club (which is first league club experiencing some “problems”).
When it comes to less advanced players, like kids and begginers, a ball is a must! They must develop ball handling skill with various drills, poligons etc. This is not an issue with already developed athletes (they have ball handling skills) — but this doesn’t mean they should not practice ball handling, but they do it in more demanding actvities, like 1on1, small-sided games, 4vs4 etc…
For kids and beggining soccer players:
Ball handling skills and drills
Speed, strength, explosivness development
Conditning comes from playing games and doing practices, thus no need for aerobic conditning especially long distance running… tempo now and then
When they become more advanced, less ball handling skills and drills, more speed and strength and more conditioning, both “aerobic” and “anaerobic”.
“As far as condioning” — Don’t know what you ment by this? Poor english Do you mean besides condioning, or for conditioning?
