Individual Training Plan For Footballers:
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Do you ever go out to the field, not know what to do, and feel like you just went through the motions?
I don’t know about you, but when I was younger and didn’t have a mentor, I had many of those days.
Having a plan is the number one step to having a successful individual training session for football.
Going out to the field and just doing random exercises, and random drills with no purpose, will almost do nothing for you.
After years and years of research, I have figured out what works best for me, the athletes I train, and the players I train with, when going out to the field.
Let me tell you what I talk about all the time..
Individual training is fantastic, and is one of my favorite things.
It is my JOB outside of football.
But, individual training should SUPPLEMENT team training.
Individual training should NOT interfere with the energy and effort that you put into your team training.
Football is a team sport. You need to be able to succeed in a team setting.
Your performances in training throughout the week determines how you will perform on the weekend.
Second thing, before we dive deeper, is that playing pickup with friends and acquaintances is very valuable. The more games you play-the better. The only thing I tell my 1-on-1 clients is to be careful during the season with pickup games. because you are always risking a possible injury. So, if you are to play pick up, I suggest you do it in the off-season.
Individual training can be very beneficial, and useful in adding certain skills, actions and techniques into your game.
During the season, depending on how you feel (and the workload throughout the week), you can incorporate individual training and benefit from it!
With individual training becoming more popular, I wanted to lay out a simple individual training plan for you to follow:
Before we get into the structure, before you go out to the pitch;
you need to have a why.
Without a why, you will not make the most of your session.
Ask Yourself These Simple Questions:
1. Why are you going out to train today?
2. What do you want to improve?
From here, you can easily plan your session.
Let’s go Over the 6 Steps on How to Plan an Individual Training Football Session:
1. 10 Minute Dynamic Warmup to Awaken your Body and Brain:
-I used to jokingly say to my friends, while on the way to a training session, “the warmup is the worst part of the training. I wish we didn’t have to warmup”
-As we all know, when you don’t want to do something, that probably means you should do it.
-A warmup is not fun, its not sexy, and its super boring (but necessary)!
What Can Happen Without a Warmup:
-Without a warmup, you are at major risk for injury (no matter how young you are).
As I said before, you are going out to the field to train individually to improve your performance (for when the match day comes around).
If you don’t warmup, and end up getting injured, you literally defeat the entire purpose of extra training. You are going out there to become a better player.
If you get injured, you will miss a couple of weeks of training (depending on how bad the injury is), which will lead to becoming “rustier/less sharp”. You will lose valuable team training sessions and individual sessions that will advance you as a player.
You Won’t Perform as Well:
Without a warmup, you will also not perform nearly as well! As I frequently say: CONSISTENCY is the key to improvement!
Second thing, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY every day of the week.
I would rather you warmup and have a shorter training session, than have a longer training session with no warmup.
Why?
First of all, a proper warmup activates all the right muscles being used for the session, as well as the brain. This will allow you to train much harder and more intensely, and will lead to greater improvement over time.
Second, you will be able to bring more intensity, and maximum concentration and intent, to every single rep you do.
You are going out there to get better!
Right?!
Third, soccer is a sport made up of high-quality, high-speed movement! Therefore, every drill and rep you do should be aimed at being game-speed.
I often talk about doing a couple of reps at a slower speed, so that you have the rhythm and fluidity of the drill down. Once you have it down, perform the drill at max speed.
“If you train badly, you play badly. If you work like a beast in training, you play the same way!”
Pep Guardiola
If you want an example of a warmup to do before training, check this out:
2️. 10-25 Minutes of Ball Mastery:
Many people claim that ball mastery isn’t game realistic, which is valid to some extent, I guess ☺
I get the criticism..
“When are you going to do a repeated skill during the game?!”
“You’re not going to, but doing repeated skills equals more reps with specific surfaces of your foot. More reps equals more comfort. More comfort equals more confidence. More confidence equals better play”
Are you telling me being comfortable and aware of the inside part of your foot won’t help you play a pass better?
This got me thinking of a simple phenomenon in exercise science.
When you have a weak muscle group, it’s generally because you didn’t train it hard enough, with enough detail or simply NOT ENOUGH.
The way to get that muscle stronger is to put some input into the muscle. For example, if you constantly get groin strains, one of the reasons could be because your adductor is not strong enough..
You did a lot of squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts, but not enough lateral lunges, step downs and Copenhagen planks.
Once you start working to simultaneously loosen the groin and strengthen the area, it will get better, as long as it hasn’t been going on for a long time.
Not every thing you do needs to be realistic, and it doesn’t have to replicate the game.
Is doing a standing shoulder press realistic to the game?
No, but it will make your upper body stronger, and help your core and pelvic stability.
The strength of your upper body and the ability to connect your upper, core and lower body is essential for power and speed development.
Is doing a repeated “pull behind” realistic to the game?
No, but it will improve your relationship with the sole of your foot and top of the ball. So, when you are in a tight space in the corner or on the line, you escape that pressure with comfort and confidence.
Let’s take a look at the 4-step learning process for acquiring any new skill.
The Process of Learning:
Unconscious Incompetence: You don’t know what you don’t know.
Conscious Incompetence: You now know what you don’t know. You are introduced to a new skill.
Conscious Competence: You know what you know. This is the training process where you are putting in hundreds of hours of reps.
Unconscious Competence: What you know is second nature. This is the part where you can do a skill and get out of pressure during a match, without even thinking about it.
Ball Mastery will help you develop your skills to a point where you possess exceptional unconscious competence.
Being able to play the ball with the outside of your non-dominant foot without breaking stride (perhaps the result of many hundreds of reps), can be a game and career changer.
It’s called Ball Mastery for a Reason…
The goal is to master the ball, and become a master of your craft.
Master the Ball and you will master the game!
Let’s keep it short and sweet:
Ball mastery before your session will get your body, brain and feet ready for what’s to come. It gets every part of your foot familiar with the ball, and warms up and activates your brain.
If you want to learn more of why I think ball mastery is so valuable, check out this video:
As Promised, Here It Is:
Become an elite player on the pitch and learn how to build a 6 Figure side hustle off the pitch within Our Exclusive Academy:
3️. 20-30 Minutes- Passing Drills & First Touch Drills:
-For the first 10 minutes, work at a medium intensity to get your touch right and the ball under your feet.
-Once you feel sharp, work for 10-20 minutes at a very high intensity, challenging your first touch and passing ability.
Remember that professional footballers are very very consistent with the basics. They play the ball with 1 and 2 touch at a fast tempo.
Whether you are working with a partner or with a wall, challenge yourself!
Play the ball with pace (but make sure that those hips and groins are well warmed up).
Quick Game to Work on First Touch:
One of the simplest and best drills you can do with a partner, is to stand about 10 feet from each other and just ping the ball into each other with pace.
Take two touches and play it back. If one of you screws up the touch, the other person gets a point. Play up to a certain number.
If you want a full workout where you can get 1,000+ Touches, check out this video:
4. 30-40 Minutes of Game Specific and Position Specific Situations.
-This bulk of the training should be very intense, with lower reps, but focusing on game simulation.
-It should be done at the highest intensity possible, with a sufficient amount of rest in-between (to make sure you are well recovered and ready to perform the next rep with quality).
-You are working on your TECHNIQUE & PROPER MECHANICS of certain movements, NOT FITNESS.
Bring maximum intent and concentration to every single rep of every single drill.
Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:
1. What position do you play?
2. What are the most consistent actions you do during the game?
3. What are the actions you are good at?
4. What are the actions you need to improve upon?
Based upon these answers, you will set up this part of the training.
Your Position:
-As an outside back, here is what I do:
If I’m with a partner:
I will have him stand as a center back and rope balls out to me. I will take a positive first touch forward, and play it to a small goal down the line (simulating a winger), and to a small goal in the middle of the field (simulating a number 6). The last option would be to take a positive touch forward and then clip a ball over the top (simulating a #9 or #10)
If I’m by myself:
I’ll just use a wall and simulate the same type of drills.
The most important thing is answering those questions, to see what you need to work on.
Get creative, play out some game scenes in your head, smile and enjoy yourself!
5. 10 minutes of Optional Fitness
-I call this optional because it’s your choice!
-Fitness doesn’t NEED to be done after an individual session, but it can be done.
-Ultimately, this depends on how you feel and if you think you need it.
-Did you play/are you playing on the weekend?
-If you are playing, I would stay away from extra fitness. If you aren’t playing, you can do a little bit, but not too much, because you may get subbed in.
-If you don’t play 45 minutes or more, you can do some extra fitness after the match to keep yourself sharp and ticking.
-Most importantly, don’t overdo this and get injure ourself. Remember, it’s the last thing we want!
6. 10 minute Cool Down
-Let your mind and body rest and recharge.
-Incorporate some light jogging, static stretching, and deep breathing.
-The ability to turn on, to train hard, and turn off to rest, is one of the key skills of a high performer.
If you want to learn how to control your mind in high-pressure situations, try this breathing exercise:
I hope this article helps you have the best individual session possible.
If you want to hear me explain how to plan an individual training session as a footballer in more depth, check out this video below:
Are you confused on how to structure your plan?
I get it!
There’s so much information out there! I understand, you may not know what to do…
Trust me, I’ve been there.
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