Pain/Killer Shuttles

The shuttles run or killer shuttles, as some people prefer to call them is one of the most effective drills if performed with effort and focus. However, it is also the most painful soccer conditioning drill that you can find. It is therefore suggested to perform this drill at the end of the practice session because it will squeeze the last piece of power from your kids. They need to perform the drill 5-10 times before taking 2 minutes rest and the number of sets depend upon how young your players are. If they are below 18 then you should try to keep the number of sets to 5. Following are the instructions for setting up the Killer/Shuttle Runs: 1. Place 4 cones 10 to15 yards apart. 2. The player will start from cone 1, run to cone 2 and back to cone 1, then run to cone 2 and back to cone 1, run to cone 3 and back to cone 1 and to finish, run to cone 4 and back to cone 1. 3. The player should run at a maximum speed. 4. He/ she should rest of 20 seconds during the sets.

5. Each player should perform at least 5 sets. Step Jumps

You have the option to make your kids perform step jumps drill either in the middle or at the end of your practice session. But you should avoid doing it at the start of your practice session as players need to adequately warm up before carrying out this drill. To perform the Step Jumps drill: 1. The players should place a cone or a ball in front of them. 2. They should themselves stand beside the cone or ball. 3. They should then start jumping both vertically and laterally off the ground and over the cone/ball. 4. They should land on both feet and then jump back in the other direction. 5. Each set should last around 60 seconds. 6. Players should perform 4-8 sets depending on their age. Sick & Sack Runs

This drill is always performed in pairs. Instruct your players that they will have to compete with their partner. This is how the drill is set up: 1. Divide your players into 2 equal groups. 2. Tell each of your players to identify a partner in the other group. 3. Place 5 cones 10 yards apart. 4. Players should perform minimum 5 sets (of course depending on their age).

5. They may rest between the sets by jogging back to their respective lines. Lost Runs

This drill is called lost runs because once your kids start with its execution, they will actually feel lost. On the other hand, this drill is both fun and effective for developing your kids overall condition. This is how the drill should be set up: 1. Place 6 cones on the same way like in the image. 2. Players should try to run at their maximum speed and perform at least 4 sets. 3. They should take rest by jogging back to the line between the runs. Although you should work upon your kids overall conditioning during the whole season, it is important to put some extra focus on conditioning training 2-3 months before the start of the season. This is the most critical period and a player with a poor pre-season behind him will not be able to perform well during the competition. The soccer conditioning drills in this newsletter can be performed during your regular season or as a compliment to your pre-season training program.