An Overview of Professional Soccer Techniques, Tactics and Training Drills

Article by Mark Heffernan

Professional soccer is one of the most watched sports in the world, no matter what name it goes by. The high level of skill and fitness professional players exhibit on the field makes the sport look easy. However, even the professionals believe that “practice makes perfect”, and practice techniques, tactics and run through training drills on an almost daily basis. Below is an overview of the techniques, tactics and training drills that go into being a professional soccer player.

Training Drills

As with any sport, part of being a professional soccer player includes continual training drills. There are as many training drills are there are moves, but most can be broken down into defensive and offensive components.

Professional defensive training drills include how to jockey opponents, giving the player’s side a chance to regain the ball, performing block or sliding tackles and heading. To improve these skills, players practice keeping a good defensive line, recovery running, defending set pieces and crosses, and the necessary decision making skills on when to press, cover or drop, to name a few.

Offensive training drills include set plays, which help keep the professional players fit and as well as improving and keeping control of the ball. The drills can vary from tight space dribbling to 3vs3 and crosses with a finish at the goal.

As a coach or player, it’s always best to start with basic drills during a session, then lead up to the more complicated 3vs3 or 8vs8 plays. With this method of slowly increasing the energy and focus level, the players have a chance to warm their muscles up and “relearn” the movements needed before getting into serious drill.

Techniques

Every professional player and coach has a specific technique on how to carry out a play or move, and the techniques grow as the player progresses in the mastery of the sport. However, even professional players return to the basics.

Although a basic soccer technique, kicking the ball is often overlooked. Many beginners start by using their toe, which causes inaccuracy, as well as presenting the possibility of injury to the foot. Practicing the proper way of using the instep sets the movement in muscle memory, so that, when the professional players are on the field, they don’t have to worry about the movements. The proper way to pass or shoot is embedded in muscle memory and becomes automatic.

When you practice professional soccer techniques, make sure you don’t skip over the basics. While advanced techniques are important, learning the basic footwork is what got you to the advanced level in the first place. Don’t leave them out of the drills you set up.

Tactics

Professional soccer tactics are all about how the sport is played. Where do the players need to be for defending corners? What are the roles of the players in attacking corners? How do you build a defensive wall?

When going through tactics, you’ll be looking at many formations: 3-5-2 formations, 4-4-2 formation and the 4-5-1 formation, favored by professional clubs, among others. Practicing tactics provides the same benefits as the training and technique drills. It sets the moves in the player’s mind, so they don’t have to think about it in the middle of play.

Techniques, tactics and training drills all go into making a professional soccer player. With dedication and diligence, along with the proper training, you will find yourself advancing to a higher level than you ever thought possible.

More Tactical Fitness Training Articles

Top 7 Tactics to Get Your Fitness Training Outdoors

Article by Genevie Wittnebel

Are you becoming bored with your recent exercising routine? Have you been tired of driving to the gym to exercise once the weather conditions are so great? Have you been stuck inside a fitness rut and looking for some new suggestions to renew progress? Warmer weather conditions are here so why wouldn’t you take your fitness routine outside?

Let’s be honest. Driving 30 minutes to the gym to walk about the treadmill and lift weights doesn’t make much sense once the weather conditions are nice. Not to mention you have been cooped-up all winter long, you are bored from your mind together with your fitness routine, and you’ve got not seen any progress in months.

Relax and get comfortable. I am going to reveal to you some ideas that will enable you to get outside, enable you to get interested in training again, and will help you experience that progress that you have not observed in years. Interested? I really hope that you said YES!

In my 10 years in the fitness game I have found it keeps coming back to a couple key points. One: You have to attempt to make an effort to do more from training session to work out. Two: People need regular variety within their training (for psychological and physiological reasons). Today I will talk about the second point and educate you on how obtaining a little variety inside your training can help get you back in line. Take a look at these outdoor training ideas to give a little variety for your routine:

1. Take your weight training outside to combine it up: Throughout the summertime I truly enjoy taking my weight training outside. I love taking my weights out into my backyard or to the local park. Training with a loved one or a number of dedicated friends is a superb method of doing it. A few of the training tools that work well for outdoor training are kettlebells (shown in the picture below — looks like a large bowling ball having a handle), clubbells (a weighted bat), medicine balls (fun to throw around), sled dragging (ideal for athletes), weighted vest workouts, sandbag training (nothing fancy here, just sand inside a bag), and good old dumbbells.

2. Try Some Interval training workouts to improve weight loss: Look, the “fat-burning” zone is a myth. Sure the body does use fat as an energy source after Half an hour of continuous exercise in a certain intensity but the sports scientists show us that shorter efforts of higher intensity exercise( LeSean McCoy Jersey ) can be even more good at decreasing your body fat percentage (have you ever ask yourself why sprinters are extremely lean without needing to run for 30 minutes straight???). A terrific way to incorporate interval training workouts into your summer training is often as simple as warming up for 5-10 minutes after which alternating Thirty seconds more intense effort with Thirty seconds of a more moderate effort. You can do that on your mountain bike, road bike, doing hill sprints, kayak sprints, jump roping, sprints about the track, as well as doing a bodyweight callisthenic such as jumping jacks. Enjoy!

3. Perform mini-workouts during the day: An easy method to easily fit in some outdoor training would be to pick any exercise and take short exercise breaks outside. You could go out of the office and perform a group of squats, walking lunges, elevated push-ups, stair climbs in which you skip steps, as well as calf raises. Remember: It is your total energy expenditure at the conclusion during the day that is important — not doing the work all at once.

4. Do some yard work: The yard is really a mess to as well obtain a workout and become productive simultaneously. Try stacking wood, raking leaves, building a rock wall, digging an opening (you choose what for), walk having a loaded wheelbarrow, carry things over the yard over your head, spread some mulch around your new plants that you just make the hole you dug earlier.

5. Take in some scenery: Result in the world your gym. Commercial health clubs do not have anything on Mother Nature. Grab yourself outside and take a stroll from our park, go hiking, kayaking, biking, and navigate to the beach to run in the sand or jump in the waves. Getting outdoors can be a great way to adopt an exercise lifestyle and then add variety for your current training program.

6. Go for obstacle walks: A cool method to then add variety to your routine is to mix in some bodyweight calisthenics such as squats, push-ups, and lunges to your summer walks to improve calorie expenditure and challenge your body. Walking on a treadmill is boring and predictable. Going for a hurdle walk through the local park could be a much more enjoyable and the “chaos” of walking outside may be the appropriate variety you’ve been looking for.

7. Participate in a summer sports league: Playing sports is a superb way to then add variety for your routine and have a blast doing it. You will find hiking clubs, mountain biking clubs, road bike clubs, triathlon training clubs, softball leagues, martial arts tournaments, basketball leagues, and much more. In fact, I am participating in a summer basketball league for the first time in a long time and that i can’t wait to start. It is a great opportunity to get outside, make new friends, and perform a fitness activity that enhances your lifetime.

There you have it — 7 suggestions to take your fitness training outside and possess some variety into your program. One thing to consider would be to hit the gym a couple days per week and perform your other workouts outside. Mother Nature has provided us some good options a great idea is outside come july 1st and make use and I am certain you will notice renewed progress (you’ll also find a great time doing the work!).