Imporatnce of Speed Training for Soccer Athletes

Soccer players, like all athletes, depend on their bodies for success. The importance of fitness and the attempts to minimize the toll exacted by injuries has given rise to companies specializing in the health of athletes. Teams use these programs to gain any edge they can.

While still playing catch-up with the world in many regards, the U.S. is at the forefront of athletic training and speed training. Yet soccer also retains intangible elements that cannot be broken down into scientifically measurable parts.

Some might believe fitness training is a rudimentary science that is more or less similar the world over. Soccer is mostly running and kicking, and that doesn't seem to lend itself to a specialized approach that overcomplicates those basic elements.

Yet, as Forsythe points out, on the elite level, even those fundamentals need to be at their peak almost constantly.

"Speed and power are what the players need most," he explained.

After running a battery of examinations on players, the A.P. trainers design individual plans for each athlete to maximize those two components. With the trials and follow-up assessments that are run on players, it's also possible to identify those who are slacking on their fitness goals or not fully committing to the program.

"The biggest cause of injury is lack of strength," Forsythe said. "Generally, it's just a matter of being a little bit unstable, relying too much on one leg. You need to be symmetrical. We run a series of tests on every guy on the Galaxy to identify any lack of symmetry, and then we target it. The major thing soccer players usually have is a very unstable dominant kicking foot."

Ultimately, exercise science is only one aspect of the overall picture. The skill displayed by teams like Brazil is another, and the U.S. still lags in developing such technique. If other teams, like Germany, begin making inroads in the areas where the Americans have traditionally led, the time might have arrived for the U.S. to find some outside experts of their own to improve those missing elements.

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