To begin, you should master the technique of touching the ball close to your body. Then when you feel the time is right, which is right after you touch the ball, get that leg up and over it. You can practice without a ball to work on your leg speed. The critical point is right after the ball leaves your foot. It’s that point which will make or break your move. As you make that critical touch you must move quickly to rise above the ball and then back down to catch it back and continue to juggle.

Try different variations, inside out, outside in and switching feet.

Of course you must see the trick to fully understand what I am talking about, so simply click here and you will get the treat of seeing the Ole’. I hope this move inspires you to work on your game and always be on the look out for the next “Move of the Moment”.

Finally, Goals Goals Goals, to check out the newest goals of the week we have begun a new place for goals and commentary called “Savage Soccer.” Check it out and receive the best goals of the week from all over the world delivered to your inbox every Monday. Click Here to Check it out.

Todays Question is:
When can players begin working on their speed?

This is a topic that has been around for quite a while and depending on who you ask, the answers will be quite different. However, let’s take this into perspective.

At what ages do you notice the impact of speed in field sports?

Speed can be a factor at any age. It is just more noticeable as we get older. From the time we are able to walk, movement training becomes a part of our daily lives. After all, we are in a developmental stage. We must learn how to balance ourselves to keep from falling down, how to coordinate movements to take our first steps and we must be able to combine these tasks in order to be the most efficient and cover the most ground. Well the same can be said about speed training.

No matter what stage of athletics that we are in, speed training can and should be incorporated somewhere into the mix. Obviously, at different ages our training will vary. When we are younger, the focus should be more on form, mechanics, and technique. This is when we are learning how to run and learning how to control our bodies. The more focus we put on this aspect, the more it becomes instinct and the more efficient we will be as we grow. Remember, this is also a developmental stage and what we learn, we will carry with us as we get older. Getting rid of bad habits is crucial during this stage as they will be harder to correct further down the line. Then as we start aging, our bodies begin to grow rapidly, especially our bones.

At this stage, your bones grow significantly faster than your muscles. This in turn stretches your muscles leaving little room for flexibility and often leading to soreness. This is called your ‘growth spurt’. It is at this time when we must put the most emphasis on flexibility, form, mechanics, and technique. Your body has yet to adjust to this rapid growth and the extra length of your arms and legs. That is why we see many athletes during this ‘adolescent’ age run and walk awkwardly, and sometimes trip or bump into things. It would be as if you were to add an extra six inches to your arms and legs and try to go about your daily activities as normal. Then, as we progress through puberty, we can put more emphasis on functional strength training to improve power and explosiveness.

So the nature of your training should vary at different stages of your life. You can start speed training at any age, just make sure that whoever the trainer may be, they know the difference in the developmental stages of the athlete and the areas of focus.

Vaughn Bethell

Owner of Performance QSA Training Academy
Performance QSA

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