European Football

Soccer tryouts are just around the corner for the majority of soccer clubs and the boy's side of high school soccer, so I thought it would be fitting to write a post with a few interesting and important facts about soccer from a book I have been reading titled Conditioning for Soccer by Dr. Raymond Verheijen, who is Dutch and brings a unique European outlook to the game. European soccer is like the NBA or NFL here in the states, and Europeans have studied and broken down the sport in order to maintain the production of elite teams and players. Below are a couple things from the book that were quite interesting as well as encouraging, as we base our soccer training here at U-District on a similar philosophy in an effort to stay on the cutting edge and help our athletes improve and enhance their game and athleticism and strive for the elite level that players in Europe are trained for.

- "Soccer actions are never undertaken in isolation. The manner and the moment of execution are always related to the game situation. Drills must therefore incorporate elements of these game situations. In this way players develop fast reactions, linking ability, orientation, differentiation, balance, agility, and a feeling for rhythm."

- Here is an interesting excerpt from an interview with a player on the top Dutch club team Ajax. He says "It often annoys me how people compare soccer with other sports. Naturally long-distance runners, etc., have to go to the utmost, but you cannot make such a simple comparison. Soccer is more variable. First of all you have to use your feet and that is more difficult than using your hands. Then you have to use your brain, because tactics now play a large role. There is a lot of physical contact and you are regularly knocked to the ground or fall. On top of this there are 200 sprints. This demonstrates that soccer is very complex and very strenuous."

- On average, for elite players, defenders run 9.0 km (5.6 mi), midfielders run 12.1 km (7.5 mi), and attackers (forwards) run 10.4 km (6.5 mi).

Although soccer training in Europe is very successful, and as a country we could learn a lot from their approach, there is not one ideal way to train. Determining what is best for the individual athlete and helping them become better and enhancing their athletic experience, and life, is what training is all about.

Good luck in tryouts!