STRENGTH & CONDITIONING AND INJURY PREVENTION

Health Related Fitness Components:

​

· Muscular Strength and Endurance: muscular strength is the amount of force a muscle can produce with a single repetition, while muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to repeatedly exert force. Both muscular strength and endurance go hand in hand on the field. The amount of strength a player can produce determines how quickly they can get into a sprint, how high they can jump. However, muscular endurance allows the player to sustain a sprint and jump for a longer period. Having strong muscles also helps the player avoid muscle fatigue and injury. Total body exercises will be done with the players to encourage improved strength in all muscle groups (lower body, upper body, and core).  I asked Leanne what she means by this.

 

 

· Cardiovascular Fitness: refers to the heart, lungs, and blood vessels delivering oxygen to the exercising muscles allowing the muscles to create movement. The more efficient a player is at delivering oxygen to their working muscles, the longer they can last performing at a high level on the futbol field. To test this component, the individual performs an aerobic activity or drill until exhaustion (i.e. Beep Test). This component improves upon the improvement of other health and skill-related components including speed, power, and muscular strength/endurance.

 

 

· Flexibility: refers to the range of motion a joint can perform without sustaining pain or injury. Because our players are growing kids or adolescents, it is very popular to see a loss in flexibility. This is no excuse though, as players with inflexible muscles are more likely to experience more soreness, tenderness, and even injury. Having a good range of motion on the field can help with the player’s motor development including ball skill. Players will learn the importance of a warm-up and cool down to help enhance their ability on the field. 

 

 

· Body Composition: refers to the percentage of lean body tissue (muscle and bone) and fat tissue. This health-related component is a very sensitive area. Though this is part of our target, we do not directly focus on the area itself. Body composition has absolutely nothing to do with the number on the scale, especially for growing kids. Our focus is to maintain a healthy fat percentage and increasing muscle mass. This improves not only fitness and futbol, but also the nutritional needs of a growing player. It is our partnership with the parents to improve this component. Foods with whole grain, protein, and healthy fats provide the best energy for the player to function efficiently.

 

Skill-Related Fitness Components:

 

· Agility: is the ability to change and control the direction and position of the body while maintaining a constant, rapid motion. This is one of the most important components in futbol because the game is constantly moving in all directions. A player’s goal during the game is to be able to change direction quickly and effectively. Agility will be improved by drills involving stop-and-go, lateral movements, change in direction, and explosiveness. 

 

 

· Balance: is the ability to control or stabilize the body when a player is standing still or moving. This is as simple as dribbling on the field and an opponent bumping into you and being able to shift your body weight appropriately so you do not lose control of the ball. Though your muscles around the ankle, knee, and hip have a huge impact on balance, core strength also plays a huge role. Balance can be improved by performing static single leg movements, and then progressing to more complex balancing movements adding jumps or resistance from an opponent. 

 

 

· Coordination: refers to the ability to execute a movement as well as control a movement. This includes spatial awareness on the field and performing moves on the ball while continuing to run or change direction, and precision with passes/shoots. Coordination training is improved with the use of ladders, cones, poles, etc.

 

 

· Power: is the ability to move the body swiftly while applying maximum force to the muscles. Power is a combination of both speed and muscular strength. This area of futbol is also one of the most important components, as any player wants to be able to perform rapid or “explosive” movements on the pitch, including getting up to maximum speed as quick as possible after changing directions as well as jumping high enough to win a 50/50. Plyometrics are the best tool for improving power. Plyometrics consist of moving a muscle through its normal range of motion in an explosive way. A few common exercises include squat jumps, broad jump, skater jumps, lunge jumps, and burpees. 

 

 

· Reaction Time: is the amount of time it takes to start a movement after your senses signal to move. This also coincides with quickness, which measures your instant and rapid responses. Any player with good speed and agility is a response from reaction time. It can be improved by agility drills as well as simply chasing a player and having to change direction when they do. 

 

 

· Speed: is the ability to cover a distance in a short amount of time. In terms of futbol, this also means being able to run at the same sprint speed throughout the entire game. Similar to cardiovascular fitness, managing your speed means the ability to recover before having to run hard again. This can simply be improved by sprinting all out with a combination of start positions and distances.    

 

We are excited to unveil these Strength & Conditioning/Injury Prevention trainings as a new and vital component of the World Class Premier program. We want to provide our players with top level coaching, as well as, giving them all the pivotal tools they will need in their arsenal in order to work toward success on the pitch.