What a year looks like for a soccer player

The typical amateur soccer player spends about two-thirds of the year playing soccer. However, the training does not end there, during the other months, players continue to train at different levels of intensity. Here is what the typical calendar looks like for a player:

Pre-season training

The point of early pre-season training is to get your body and mind ready for the most demanding phase of training, which is late pre-season. During this phase, you spend as much time as you have available for skills and tactical training and a little on strength and endurance. A lot will depend on your weaknesses and what priorities you have for the different aspects of training.

Late pre-season training

This grueling phase brings in speed training, flexibility and additional skill training to your existing program. In this phase, the endurance training switches to interval training which improves speed as well as endurance. Internal training also helps with overall speed and acceleration.

In-season training

This phase is more about maintenance than improvement. Pushing yourself too hard during this phase will only result in injury or burning out early in the season. Training is still every day, but divided between team practice and working out.

Post-season training

The closed season is all about cross training. It is how you maintain your training levels while getting some form of recovery during these months.

This four-phase approach is the most effective method of training for a soccer player.