You Run Like a…Soccer Player!

Even though soccer is played on 100-ish meter pitch, it is still a game of inches.  With that in mind it’s good to consider some little things that can improve a players ability to gain more than a few inches as they sprint down the field.  One thing that I have noticed with a lot of young soccer players is that they run like…well, girls!  Sorry if that is politically incorrect but sometimes we can be honest can’t we?  What I mean is that a lot of soccer players run with elbows out, with minimal arm swing, improper leg alignment, and with their butts sticking out.  Elbows-out is okay if you’re shielding someone away from the ball but you don’t need it when you’re just running flat out.  Proper arm swing helps your overall transfer of power, as does proper leg-torso alignment.  If the old butt is sticking out then there is improper pelvis tilt, which usually means weak hip flexors.  I’ve done biomechanical analyses on a lot of athletes over the years and I hate to say it but soccer players are usually the worst.  This is understandable because we learn to walk as a child and eventually start running and no one analyzes how we do it as long as we don’t break our mom’s furniture doing it.

     Here is just one simple way for a coach to watch his/her players and help them have better form.  And of course better form means faster.

1.  Set up a straight 20-meter running lane along one of the sidelines.  Have your player(s) sprint towards you from one end towards you.

2.   Watch their arm swing.  Each hand should swing from near the chin to their imaginary back pocket.  Arms should not cross paths and elbows should be in tight to the body with hands relaxed.

3.   Observe their feet.  Feet should straddle the sideline as they run and point forward with some minor deviation.  Knees, shoulders and feet should line up as they take steps.

4.   Have them sprint again but you move 90-degrees to the side and watch for the same things.

5.    Watch how far they lift their knees as they sprint and how far their back- side sticks out.  If this is an issue have them focus on lifting their knees and tucking their bottom under them as they run.

6.   Lastly, watch how much the shoulders pivot forward and back as they run.  There should only be minimal movement.

 

As you work with your players to improve their form it is wise to make small adjustments.  If you do too much too fast they risk injury.  I guarantee that with a little form improvement players get faster and that translates to better outcomes.  

Please Take Care

   Quite often when discussing some of the greatest soccer players of all time, the question comes up “who was the best ever?”  Tough question when you consider the choices; Pele, Messi, Maradona.  My friends from the British Isles always come up with one name, George Best.  Now to be honest as an American when I first heard the name I had no idea who he was.  Over the years I have been educated by my more learned friends about this soccer genius whose flame burned out way too young.  When George was at the height of his career there was little opportunity for us Yanks to watch the greats play (except on PBS- Soccer Made in Germany or the occasional match on Wide World of Sports).

     George was simply brilliant on the pitch and certainly showed a great deal of flair off the field.  Best once state, “I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars, the rest I wasted.”  Great comment until you learn the rest of the story like how even after a controversial liver transplant to replace the one he had destroyed by overindulging for years on alcohol and then continued to drink until his premature death just a few years ago.

     Alcoholism destroys people.  Not just the ones damaging their own bodies but they do a lot of damage to their family and friends along the way.  No matter how much we love them or they love us their addiction takes over and their priorities get twisted into an almost unravel-able knot.

     As an athlete your body is your greatest asset and a gift.  Why would you do something that would destroy your ability to perform at your best and could result in a myriad of possible negative outcomes?  As one who has lost a number of people close to me to addiction I simply ask you to take care of yourself.  George Best’s sister and brother-in-law created a foundation to help research and find solutions to alcoholism after his death: www.georgebest.com.

     For Dad, Uncle Bob, Uncle Ardell, Uncle Keith, Uncle Robert Jackson and of course George Best.  We lost you all way too early.

A Case for Referee Fitness

     My daughter was playing for her high school soccer team the other day in a neighboring town and I was somewhat amused by the lineup of referees that were assigned to the match.  The center ref was probably relatively fit for a nearly 70-year-old, the near side line-judge (I know…assistant referee) kept reaching back to rub his hamstring every time he had to waddle down the line to watch the game, and the far-side assistant…well, do you remember the character on Saturday Night Live named “Pat”?  Nuff said.  The advantage to having a slow assistant ref is that my daughter got away with a couple of off-sides calls because he couldn’t get there to see.  Unfortunately, so did the other team.  The center ref covered a generous 30-square-meters or so of the field and did the best he could but what really shocked me was when he showed his AARP card instead of a yellow.  And Pat, more or less watched the game from his/her patch of sod kind of like a tourist surveying the buffet on a cruise ship.

     There is certainly something to be said about an official’s ability to call a good game by virtue of his or her ability to position themselves in the proper place on the field to make the best call.  There are a lot of things for one of these people to do but they are certainly more hindered by lack of fitness.  Of course eyesight, knowledge of the laws of the game and good judgment are vital, so is fitness.

    One ref who I have become friends with over the years told me once that he referees for love of the game and to keep himself in shape. We have disagreed several times over the years about his calls, but after the game we remain friends.  We may not talk for a few days after a particularly eventful match but we’ll be friends for a long time.  The thing with him is that he is in great shape and constantly works to improve his skills as a referee.  As a coach I respect that and can accept that occasionally he makes a bad call.  When you are assigned a ref who makes bad calls and can’t physically do the job, I for one am more likely to use words I shouldn’t use and push the limits of getting thrown out of a game (by the way, that hasn’t happened yet).  Howard Webb comes to mind when you consider what a ref should at least look like physically.  I would be less likely to argue with Howard than with Pat or Mister AARP.

     Question of the week:  "How to improve the physical quality of referees in the game?"