...Soccer players are athletes, but unlike a 100m runner where there is explosive speed for 10 seconds in a straight line, there are many other abilities that soccer players need to develop.

Here are 5 key soccer related speed abilities that you should develop in your players.

#1 - Speed of thought

Soccer players have a great deal to concentrate on. There senses are constantly being blitzed with information, which they need to quickly decipher. Here are some examples:

- Where opponents are positioned

- Actions of their team mates

- What's infront of them and their peripheral vision

- The conditions of the pitch and the weather

- The noise from team mates, crowd, coaches and opponents

- Their tactical position and the strategy of the team

#2 - Speed of anticipation

Some players have a great reading of the game. I have a friend who although he is now in his late 40's early 50's still plays regularly and competes well with players half his age!

How does he do this... because he's played soccer all his life at professional and international level he has built a huge database in his brain of playing situations, player characteristics, tactical situations etc. and he is able to draw on this which gives him superb speed of anticipation.

Sure for explosiveness and reaction times the younger players would win every time, but as the old saying goes..."the first couple of yards are in the head!".

So here it is important that players develop a knack of interpreting the actions of the opponents and what that means to the games development.

#3 - Speed of reaction

As mentioned in the last bullet, speed of reaction is vital.

Anticipation is one thing, being able to react quickly is another.

Consider the role of the goal keeper, their reaction time to a sudden shot, deflection, switch in angle of attack, flight of the ball must be very acute.

But how does a goal keeper react and what...more

Premiership Transfer Window Review - Part One

...The January transfer window gave Premiership clubs the opportunity to add new players or ship out those surplus to requirements. David Walker looks at who came and went and how these moves will impact on each teams success.

arsenal

The Gunners have invested in the next generation of young talent after a disastrous season. Vassiriki Diaby joined from Auxerre and Togo striker Manuel Adebayor arrived from Monaco but the most talked about transfer was the capture of Southamptons 16 year old Theo Walcott. The transfer fee could rocket to 12 million.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Jeremie Aliadiere joined Spartak Moscow and Wolves respectively while David Bentley joined Blackburn permanently.

Such change is vital to both Arsenals immediate and future success. They currently lie in sixth place but a massive 25 points behind leaders Chelsea. The bookmakers arent convinced and offer them at 12/1 in the without Chelsea market to win the Premiership.

Aston Villa

After a pre-season transfer investment with very little to show for it, there have been no more funds made available. The Villai...more

3 Keys To Finding Your Natural Running Stride

...ngth of my stride, the height of my stride, and so on.

And these are the three tricks to running that made the difference for me:

1. Don't be afraid to INCREASE your speed!

I realised that I was actually running too slow! I've naturally got a long stride (I'm just over 6 foot tall), but when on the treadmill I was taking tiny little strides. Why? Because if I'd run at my normal stride, I would have run into the front of the machine.

By increasing the speed of the machine, I was able to stretch my stride out to a better length for me, which made my whole running style much more fluid, and therefore easier on me.

2. Don't be afraid to INCREASE your incline!

If you aren't using an incline when running, then you are effectively running downhill. This is because ...more

Soccer Team Position, Soccer Team Players Position and Set up, 5-4-1 Team Set up

...prepared to defend as opposed to attack.
This team is an opportunistic attacking team and will usually attack against the run of play.
This happens when the opposing team has made a mistake.

This system and idea can also produce and utilize the positions and concepts known as "wing back".
These are the players who can make over-lapping runs from their defensive ends right to the opposing goal lines.

When communicated properly the following happens.

1) A full on attack has been launched.
At least 5 are attacking simultaneously.

2) The outside midfield has now become support, over lapping and or cutting in and out when and where necessary.

3) Positons have changed to reflect those areas (space) not covered.
The attacking team has changed the zonal aspects and created a player mis-match numerically.

4, mid-fielders are usually arranged as outside left, inside left, inside right and outside right.
The outside players are ...more

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