How Plyometrics Exercise Can Help Improve Your Soccer Practice
Plyometrics
If you think about the sport of soccer and what it involves, you will notice that the entire sport revolves around an athlete’s foot speed, coordination, agility, and balance. So, aside from on field training, plyometric exercise is the next best thing.
Plyometric training is often used by athletes of all sports. However, soccer players will get some of the greatest benefits out of the training because plyometrics is naturally designed to do two key things: increase your foot speed, and improve your agility.
If you are looking for a way to take your soccer training to the next level, try incorporating some of the following exercises into your soccer practice.
Plyometric Exercises
To do these exercises, you will need to have a plyometric box (fitness equipment). If you do not have one, you can use a wider based stair case as a substitute.
Plyo-Stair Hop - This exercise is very simple. You will be using the lowest level plyometric box that you have, or the first stair. While facing the box, position yourself about 2 feet away, with your feet shoulder width apart. Hop onto the box with a quick rapid movement. As soon as both of your feet land on the box, jump backwards back down to starting position, then repeat. Try and get yourself into a rhythm so that you are constantly jumping on and off the box. Do 4 sets at 30 seconds each.
Lateral-Box-Jump - This exercise is much similar to the previous plyo-stair-hop. The only difference is the way that you position your body and feet. This time, do not start out by facing the box. Face your body to the right or left of the box instead. Also, position your feet closer together. Using a swift, rapid jump-hop onto the plyometric box laterally and jump back to starting position. Again, try and get yourself into a rhythm so that you are constantly off and on the box. Do 4 sets at 30 seconds each.
Plyo Hopscotch - For this exercise you do not need to use a box or stairs. Get a roll of black tape and mark out a hop scotch board pattern on the ground. After you have done that, position yourself as if you were going to actually play hopscotch. Hop through the squares using quick, short jumps. As you near the end of the board, hop backwards through the squares using the same pattern that you did when going forward. Be sure to stay on your toes. Try and get yourself into a rhythm so that you are fluidly moving back and forth across the board. Do 4 sets of 30 seconds each.
Your Training
The above exercises are only examples. You can choose to mix up your own patterns of jumps as well. The important thing to remember is to make sure that you are always using very quick fluid movements that require you to move from point to point constantly. Also, make sure that the motions involve movements in all directions. This is where it will pay off during soccer games. Being able to switch directions quickly and having that extra agility will greatly improve your soccer skills.