Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of my Pre-season training schedule, specifically designed for grass-roots footballers. If you missed week 1’s session, click here.

Over a 6 week period, I’ll be constructing a full, no-nonsense training regime, suggesting various drills and exercises which should engage players whilst improving, and eventually refining their fitness for the first league game of the season.

Whereas week 1 was all about gently nurturing the unfit players back into some form of exercise, week 2 onwards is all about improving fitness and getting players’ technical ability back to where it was last season.

Week 2 – 1 Hour Training Programme

Warmup – 10 minutes

As always, a warm-up is necessary to get your muscles ready and your blood pumping. It should involve a light jog upto 5 minutes long, before 5 minutes of mobile dynamic stretching. To do mobile dynamic stretching, outline an area of about half a penalty area and get players moving in different directions performing stretches. Watch out for a full list of dynamic stretches coming here soon!

Sprints – 15 minutes

The best way to boost footballers aerobic capacity (i.e. so they can sprint for hours) is to perform short bouts of high intensity running with plenty of recovery time.

Jog/Sprint/Walk – Line up the players along the side of the pitch, jog upto the edge of the penalty area, and sprint upto the other side of the penalty area, then walk to the other side of the pitch. When players get to the other side of the pitch, make sure they keep on walking around. After 20 seconds of walking, do the same jog/sprint/walk exercise you did to get to this side of the pitch. Do 6 of these sprints depending on squad fitness, before letting the players have 2 minutes to rest and rehydrate. Then do 4 more sprints, and then let the players rest and rehydrate again.

Ballwork – 10 minutes

Shooting Practice – Let the players have practice shots against a goalkeeper. Standing just outside the area, let the players (one by one) play a one-two off a selected team member, then shoot within 2 touches of the ball. Make sure they practice using both feet, and give them plenty of different types of shots (volleys/half-volleys/ball moving in different directions) so they can improve all of them (make sure they get their own ball if they miss).

If they are scoring with almost every shot, move the players back, if they aren’t scoring many, move them closer.

This exercise will give you a good idea whether you’ve got any decent strikers in your team and if the goalkeeper any good.

The Match – 20 minutes

2 or 3 Touch Practice Match

This is what players will come for, so it’s only fair to let them have some fun.

Again, play a game of 2 or 3 touch football with small goals and no goalkeepers.

If there are loads of players (16+), consider splitting the teams into two matches of 4/5-a-side. This will let all the players become more involved in the games by getting more touches on the ball. If you want, you can introduce a competition element into the game, involving two semi finals, then a final & third-place playoff.

Warm Down – 5 minutes

Light Jog & Static Stretch – 5 minutes:

As always, warming down is very important. It will reduce muscle ache after the session and the chance of injury. Have a light jog about a pitch’s width whilst loosening up, then perform static stretches on all relevant body parts. Watch out for a list of good static stretches, coming here soon!

Hydration

Make sure you’re drinking water or isotonic drinks before, during and after the session. It will vastly improve your ability to perform.

Check out Week 3 Here!

(Image courtesy of Gordon Marino)

Related Posts:

• Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 6
• Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 5
• Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 4
• Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 3
• Your Pre-Season Football Training Guide: Week 1