by Jennifer Schwartz, Alexandria Soccer Injury Prevention & Fitness
As many of the Academy players have heard me say, 98% of the game (individually) is spent without the ball. There are multiple phases within the game and training activities that each player must understand if they are going to be successful in the ASA Academy model. Physical effort and quickness are obvious pieces of the game, however training for this is more than a simple jog or playing another sport.
This table is a guide for our summer training purposes and a sample week schedule.
The players don’t have a wealth of time to create and carry out the perfect summer off season training. With vacations, camps, team training and school year recovery time we barely have 12 weeks to make the perfect off-season program. As a strength and fitness expert my challenge is to design an exercise program tailored to our playing style, calendar demands, and different athleticism levels while keeping safety a high priority. The exercises in this program meet all of these criteria to the best of my ability, therefore they are specific.
