Have you ever wondered what is too much fitness for youth soccer players? I could tell you dozens of fitness horror stories from other coaches and players. It’s upsetting to hear that coaches are making youth players run more than college and pros. It goes to show how much these kids love soccer. Fitness is needed, but it should only be done in a 2 week window, not 2 or 3 months.
Pros during pre-season only do 20 minutes before or after a pre-season practices, not a full 1 hour running session. In the meantime youths are doing 60-90 minute fitness sessions for 3 months straight!
Communication between players and coaches
Here’s the deal…
These middle and high school kids are playing both club and school soccer at the same time.
Some of the club coaches give the kids time off which is good.
Although, most of the coaches don’t ask the kids what they are doing on their other teams. I’m not sure if they don’t think about it or just don’t care.
EXAMPLE #1: If a player has a tournament over the weekend and then goes to school on Monday, they shouldn’t have to do fitness that day, or honestly practice at all. For goodness sake, they just played 3-5 games in the last 3 days. Recovery is vital in these situations!
EXAMPLE #2: The club coach will do a 1 hour fitness/running session and then the very next day the players school coach has them lifting weights… All while the kids are already fit! Two weeks before they just had a major tournament…
It’s really frustrating because it’s inviting injuries.
I can guarantee you that if the coach used to play soccer for a living, they know not to make the kids do too much fitness.
“Pros do fitness/running for 20 minutes per practice, 2 weeks in pre-season. Youth coaches run 1 hour of fitness for 2-3 months… Make it make sense”
A few youth soccer fitness stories
- An 11 year old girls team had to run 9 miles in 1 practice session.
- 3-a-days for age 10.
- Another story of a U17 team running 45 mins, 15 min break and then another 45 mins.
If you think this sounds okay, it’s because you never played.
In my 7 years playing pro across 15+ countries I never ran more than 5 miles.
Pro coaches add in fitness after training OR before.
I can’t think of many sessions as a pro where we showed up and ONLY did fitness. Fitness should be tied into playing/training.
If it’s a pure fitness session, it should be a mix of sprints, walking and jogging, just like a real match.
For some reason some coaches think that youth players need to run as much as a PRO.
Sure, pro midfielders run between 5-7 miles in a game, but this DOESN’T mean youth players should do this ANYTIME.
The wrong way coaches are training for soccer
A few years ago a soccer mom and dad told me how they have such a “good coach” because the coach played college soccer…
They went on to rave how the coach had their 10 year old daughters team do 3-a-days during the Summer.
Meaning 3 sessions per day – for 10 year old’s!
In case you’re wondering how the parents got their kids to practice 3x per day (logistic wise), they were from a small town outside of Dallas, TX – making it easier for travel.
Dallas is a top 3 youth soccer city in America, so it gets too intense obviously – haha.
The first session was running sand hills, second was treading water and the third was actually playing soccer. I tweeted this out and my feed blew up with people basically saying how crazy wrong that coach was.
Sad part was the parents thought it was good… This is one reason I blog, to help teach parents, players and coaches.
Great example of fitness WHILE playing ↓
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvmqyOYf93M
4v2 drill forcing players to sprint 100% ↑
What should players/coaches do for fitness?
A well trained coach will tell you that most fitness should come with the ball…
Meaning, there are many ways to involve playing soccer with fitness.
One example is scrimmage, but make it to where all the players have to be up past a certain point/line for the goals to score. This forces the defenders to get up all the way (forcing fitness).
Another option could be where all the forwards have to get back to defend or the other team gets 2 points for 1 goal.
These are 2 examples how fitness can be added into practice.
Or simply have the players run sprints for 10 minutes after training.
Top 2 things you can do to handle fitness
- Besides preparation training, make sure you are eating & drinking good. 3 meals. 3 snack periods. Including protein, carbs, veggies and fruit. You don’t have to be a health nut, but make sure during fitness weeks/days you are eating 90-95% healthy.
- Rest well. Go to bed at a decent hour and if you can take a nap once or twice a week – during the Summer heat anyway. Pro players take naps during pre-season fitness, so should YOUTHS.
What is too much fitness for youth soccer?
- When there are no days off or even 4 days in a row is too much [Players need at least 1 or 2 days off per week]
- When players are coming up with injuries
- More than 4 miles is too much for youth… You’re training for soccer, not cross country. Every good coach knows that fitness in soccer doesn’t come from just jogging 1 speed for long distance.
- No reason to have the players running more than 20 minutes IF it’s without a ball.
Soccer fitness needs to be like how a game is… A mix of sprints, jogging and walking.
Therefore, this is why actual playing is the best way to get fit. Then adding 10-20 mins of running before or after a regular session.
Strength training can come from body weight exercises.
“Coaches who do 1 hour fitness sessions for youth should lose their license.”
One reason kids are quitting sports more than ever
Fun has been taken out for too many kids. And I tell the kids I train that fun isn’t the most important element. Instead, doing your best is first. Although, fun should be high on the list.
Fitness for youth soccer shouldn’t be like the navy seals.
This is why the number of kids who quit sports by age 12 has skyrocketed.
Coaches are putting winning and their resume over everything else and that’s not right.
Just remember you have a choice to make each season, so spend time finding the right fit.
The “best league or club” shouldn’t be your main focus, especially before age 16.
Read how many stud athletes went pro, yet didn’t make their high school varsity team.
“You can only control what you can control.”
Respect your coach either way
At the end of the day, everyone has a different coach and you have to be a good teammate and work your hardest – even if it means too much fitness.
It’s important to do what you can in regards to rest, diet and training.
The good news if you have a coach who does too much fitness is you’ll have a story to tell and you’ll be mentally strong.
Again, the key fitness for youth soccer or adults is to prepare by training solo, eating well and resting.
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