Athletic Development for Soccer Players

Athletic Development -Creating A Long Term Program

In "creating" a superstar soccer athlete many parents and coaches overlook the dangers of early specialization to see short term gains with long term consequences.

I know because I have seen it first hand with parents who thought their child was the next premiership or world cup hero.

Unfortunately for these "know it all" parents of most of these children got passed by other children who played other sports in different seasons and then only started to "specialize" at an older age.

According to Tudor O Bump, PhD. (Total Training for Young Champions) early specialization in sport for children before they are physically and mentally ready often leads to the following:

- Narrow development of muscles and organ function

- Overuse and over training injuries - I see this first hand and intervene when I can

- Negative impact on the mental health of children involved - I have witnessed this as well

- Social implications due to limited interaction with other children outside of sport

- Burn out due to doing the same thing over and over again
 

Multilateral Development - The Solution for Athletic Development

It is important for young kids to develop a variety of fundamental skills before they start training in a specific sport.

My analysis to this is building a house. Regardless the type of house that is built, there must be a solid foundation first. This is little to no difference for athletic development of young aspiring male and female soccer players.

Soccer athletes must be able to run, jump, throw, catch, tumble and balance. Developing these skills first provides a solid foundation for athletic development that leads towards sport specialization at a later age.

We must remember that it takes years of training to become a world class soccer player and it is vital to develop a long term plan based on sound, scientific principles.

In two separate studies (Harre 1982 and Nagormi 1978) found the following similar results comparing early specialization to a multilateral program. This is what they found:

Early Specialization:

-quick performance improvement

-Best performance achieved at 15-16 years

-inconsistency of performance in competitions

-by age 18 many athletes were burned out and quit the sport

-prone to injuries because of forced adaptation

Multilateral Development

-slower performance improvement

-best performance at 18 and older

-consistency of performance in competitions

-Longer athletic life-few injuries
 

Four Stages of Athletic Development

Initiation Stage - Ages 6 to 10

Athletic Formation - Ages 11 to 14

Specialization - Ages 15 to 18

High Performance Ages 19 and up

 

Initiation Stage - Ages 6 to 10

In general for this age group the programs should be of low intensity with a major focus on fun. The programs must focus on overall athletic development and not sport specific performance.

Ligaments which join bone to bone are becoming stronger; however, bone ends are still cartilaginous (soft) and calcifying (hardening).

It is in this stage where growth plate damage may occur both in sport and in training.

The attention span of children is short at this time therefore it is necessary to be creative.

Here are some key things to note:

-kids should be introduced to a wide variety of skills and exercises including running, jumping, catching, throwing, batting, balancing and rolling

-encourage children to develop flexibility, coordination and balance

-positively reinforce children who are committed and self disciplined.

-reinforce improvements in skill development

-encourage participation in as many sports as possible

-make sure sports are fun
 

Athletic Formation - Ages 11 to 14

This is also a stage of awkwardness for some athletes due to rapid growth spurts. The bone tends to grow faster than the muscle, tendons and nerves. This explains the lack of coordination with some drills.

It is absolutely crucial that the focus is on skill development!

Here are some guidelines for athletic development in this stage:

- Progressively increase volume and intensity of training

- refine skills

-improve flexibility, coordination and balance

-introduce athletes to exercises that develop general strength

- most exercises should involve body weight and medicine balls

-introduce "anaerobic" training

-introduce visualization

-continue with multilateral training

 

Specialization - Ages 15 to 18

The most significant changes in training take place during this stage.

Continue with multilateral development however start performing exercises more focused at high performance for one sport.

There should be improvements in power, anaerobic capacity, coordination and dynamic flexibility.

Now is the time for the body to adapt to specific training in preparation for competition. Coaches must be aware of physical and psychological challenges due to over training.

-develop aerobic and anaerobic power for athletic development

-challenge mental capabilities
 

 High Performance - Ages 19 and Up

At this level we are talking about professional and Olympic athletic development.

The training from both a physical and mental perspective is at a much higher level.

The specificity of training is more refinement and improvements in performance are much lower and very subtle.

Discover exercises for athletic development for soccer players.