Soccer Speed Drills By Geoff James

There are few skills in soccer more important than speed. As a forward, you need to be fast to beat your defenders to the opponent's goal. As a defenseman, you need to have enough speed to overcome the other team's offense. As a goalie you need to be quick on your toes to stop the ball from reaching your net. Regardless of your position, speed is essential in soccer.

Thankfully, there are many simple drills you can practice to keep your body at its best.

Downhill Sprints - Running down hills is some of the hardest sprinting around. This will help you develop coordinated speed. The ideal hill will force you to full-out sprint without being so steep that you feel the need to slow yourself down. Do at least 3 sprints, taking breaks on the uphills or combining the downhills with:

Uphill Sprints (Resistance Training)- It takes a lot of power to spring UP a hill. Run 10 yards then rest if your hill is longer than that. If combining ups and downs, be sure to rest sufficiently between sprints. A few sets of 3 should be more than enough.

Alternative Start Sprints - Set up two cones or markers 20 yards apart. To raise intensity for these sprints, make it a race between players. The idea is that you don't start from standing but from some other aerobic activity/position. You could have team members do 5 push-ups, high knees, a header, start lying down, or sit on their hands. From that starting position, the player rockets into his sprint to the other cone, where someone else is waiting to continue the freestyle relay.
Give your fastest players soccer medals for their constant hard-work and energy