Soccer Conditioning – Why is it important?If you think that soccer is just about being skillful with the ball then you are wrong. A good soccer player is the result of many years hard practice and good condition is one of the most important abilities he need to pose. Without good condition your performance on the field will be pretty poor. Playing soccer without condition is like driving a car without wheels. Of course you can sit in the car and pretend that you are actually driving it but you will not come any far :-) The main question when talking about soccer condition is; how long should you run? Well, this is impossible for me to decide because this depends on the level you are playing on, how old you are, your fitness abilities etc. When I was 15 I used to run 3 km per day but never during the practice or game days. My advice to you is to involve a ball in almost every conditioning exercise. Of course, it can be hard to have the ball at your feet and perform hill runs, but it can be done :-). My point is that you need to keep in mind that your condition is worthless without good ball handling. To give you an example, let’s take a look at Crisitano Ronaldo or Kaka. They are pretty different in their way of playing but one thing they have in common is that they have great speed with the ball. Also, both of them are pretty fast without ball, but there are many fast players with same condition as them. However, their speed with the ball is what separates them from the others. They are masters at combining their speed with their ball skills which makes them almost impossible to stop. It is also much more fun and easier to run with a ball at your feet because running is really a boring part of soccer. You will also need to get your coach to understand this. Of course you need to listen to your coach, but it doesn’t mean that you should not discuss soccer related questions with him. Tell him that the best way of increasing a players condition and ball skills is to involve both of these together. If he wants you to perform 60-70 yard runs then fine, but make sure to have a ball at your feet and you will be fine. Don’t give up just because your coach doesn’t listen on your advices directly. Keep telling him how important it is to involve a ball in your soccer conditioning training. I can ensure you that soon or later he will listen to your advices and adapt them.
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