Soccer speed and agility training

Soccer speed and agility is what the clubs are looking for in kids, and anyone out there serious about becoming a future Asian soccer star needs to start to work on these areas of their game.

According to recent workshops i've attended, professional soccer clubs are advising coaches that kids need to work on their speed and agility.

If the speed and agility is there, the rest can be worked on and developed. The technical skills, fitness and awareness are areas that can be developed over a period of time. In fact, the intense academy training is geared for such development.

The modern soccer game is demanding and with the ever increasing flow of research and information it's difficult to get your head around what really works.

Unless kids are already in an academy, it's difficult to measure, let alone schedule trainings to meet the requirements to develop into a professional soccer player.

So what are the options?

Well, according to research genetics plays a part in performance. Depending on your genetics, you are built for either endurance or speed. Endurance relies on a high percentage of slow twitch muscle fibre, whereas speed is dependent on a high percentage of high twitch muscle fibre.

But all is not lost, there is something that can be done to develop the speed and agility needed for the modern soccer game.

When working with kids, training the right way at the right time can help maximise their future potential. I recently found research that pointed to 2 areas of opportunity to develop speed and agility - for boys it's between the ages of 7-8 and 11-14; for girls between the age of 7-8 and 12-14.

The science behind this points to the fact that during these periods the body starts producing the enzymes and hormones that can help speed performance.

The best way to get maximum benefit from any research is to become a sponge of information. Go out and find information on particular aspects of performance you need to work on and always get it from more than one source and verify the information.

Then you're fully equipped to find a qualified coach to work on those aspects of performance and never be afraid to use the services of more than one performance coach.