Pre-season conditioning for soccer usually consists of long-distance running to develop the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, i.e., your aerobic capabilities. For many players, especially young players, this is a very effective method of training. Development of the aerobic capabilities is needed in order to last the entire game and for recovery after intense play. Thus, aerobic conditioning can be considered the cornerstone for soccer playing. However, today’s game is characterized by speed and quickness. You have to be able to accelerate quickly and make fast and sharp changes in direction to evade your opponent. If you are on defense, you must be able to keep up with your opponent and not allow him or her to execute a shot on goal or a good pass. The trend in modern soccer is toward improved and greater players abilities and functions. This in turn leads to execution of a greater number of sprints or dashes at high intensity, i.e., maximum speed. It is not uncommon to find that the total dash or sprint distance run at top speeds exceeds 2,000 yards. And the number of such dashes is well over one hundred. On some teams, because of the constant use of supercharged speed tactics, the number of fast changes in play require an even greater number of quick dashes and changes in direction. The energy for this speed and quickness work comes from the anaerobic pathways, i.e., the work is executed without the benefit of oxygen for production of energy. In other words, your breathing, in which you get oxygen for energy, is not capable of supplying the energy needed for these quick all-out, high-intensity dashes. In addition, even a 3-second all-out run leads to significant depletion of your energy stores, especially ATP and creatine phosphate. Because of this, soccer requires a greater ability to develop short lasting, maximum efforts more than the ability to maintain effort over a long period of time. The higher your level of play, the greater is the need for executing short lasting, maximum effort. The main physical quality that allows you to execute quick bursts of speed is power. Power here is a combination of strength and speed. In other words, how quickly can you exhibit your strength capabilities. Your muscles must not only be strong but they must be able to literally explode to produce the quickness and speed that is needed. To develop these abilities, you must involve yourself in a specialized strength-training program that not only strengthens the muscles but strengthens them in the same manner as they are used in a game situation. When the strength and explosive training exercises are executed in the same pathway and range of motion as they are used in game play, you will get even greater benefits. By coupling the strength and explosive training with the technique used in running and cutting actions that are the keys to quickness and the ability to change direction very quickly, then the improvement is very significant. You will realize the gains much sooner than if you simply went on a generic strength and explosive training program. In other words, the more specific the exercises that you do and the more closely they duplicate the joint actions involved in running and cutting actions, the sooner and more effectively you will increase your strength, speed and quickness. Thus, you should do specialized strength exercises such as the knee drive, pawback, hip abduction, ankle extension, and knee extension to develop the muscles as they are used in acceleration and quick bursts of speed. These exercises can be done on the field if you use rubber tubing as in the Total Athlete System™. In addition, you should do plyometric exercises to develop the explosiveness of the muscles involved in the push-off in both running and cutting. Included should be exercises such as leaping, double and single leg jumps for maximum height and single leg side jumps. For more specific information on execution of these and other exercises, see Women’s Soccer: Using Science to Improve Your Speed