CHAPTER 7: TRAINING FOR EXPLOSIVE POWER

So many movements in soccer depend on the ability of the body to produce force rapidly, or explosive
power. Think of central defenders jumping high in the air to meet a goal kick or cross; or strikers
sprinting past defenders after playing the ball behind them. Jumping and sprinting-related actions occur
frequently throughout the game, and how successful your players are at performing these actions will be
greatly influenced by their power capabilities. Even goalkeepers need explosive power; especially when
throwing long balls, diving to make a save, or when leaping high in the air to meet a cross.

There are three main training methods that can be used to develop power in soccer players. These are:
power or Olympic-style weightlifting; medicine ball training; and plyometric training. As mentioned in
Chapter 6, many youth and amateur teams don’t have access to weight training facilities or strength
training coaches who can teach and supervise an Olympic lifting program. For these teams, this form of
training is not likely to be an option. Moreover, doing medicine ball training in a team setting requires a
large volume of equipment and is therefore not very practical.

For most youth and amateur teams, plyometric training presents the most suitable option for developing
explosive power. Importantly, it has been shown to be a very effective method. In fact, sports science
research has shown that incorporating short-term plyometric training into the yearly training program is
effective at increasing power-associated movements such as jumping, sprinting and changing direction in
both adult and youth players.

In this chapter we describe the basic principles of plyometric training and give a variety of ball-oriented
plyometric exercises that can be used to develop explosive power in your players.

Figure 7.1 Explosive power is a necessary quality for centre backs jumping high in the air to make

defensive headers