Sweat City’s Speed and Agility Program for LA Galaxy Orange County
Too download Speed City’s Speed Training 101 pdf document please click here.
Our training program for LA Galaxy Orange County will focus on the following areas of athletic development:
-Acceleration and Sprint Mechanics -We will have astonishing breakaway/closing speed! Pure sprint speed is the fastest way to catch a college coach’s eye. The other team better bring some aloe vera lotion after getting burned over and over.
-Agility and Change of Direction -We will be the quickest, sharpest cutting team on the field. We will win every 50/50 ball and run circles around our opponents. We will speed up, slow down, and move sideways so quickly that our opponents will be left dizzy.
-Reaction -We will learn how to react and recover on defense with proper footwork, so we never get twisted around or lose a step. We will develop shut-down defenders that never get beat off the ball. Get used to seeing the number ZERO on the opponent’s scoreboard.
-Foot Speed -Every training we will incorporate “Lightning Feet” drills to keep our fast-twitch muscles firing at maximum output. Our feet will move faster than our opponents, which means we will be a step ahead in every cut, kick, and stride we make. We will be playing at a sizzling tempo.
-Footwork Accuracy -As fast as our players will be playing, they need to be able to control their newfound speed. Our accuracy, coordination, and balance drills will allow our players to harness their speed and play at a silky smooth pace. Most importantly, accurate footwork is at the core of preventing injuries!
-Explosiveness and Power -We will out-jump opponent to win balls out of the air! Our first step in any direction will be so explosive, opponents will think they’re playing against LeBron James out there. Our legs will become so powerful that it’s going to get expensive replacing all the nets every time our shot rips through them!
-Upper Body, Core, and Lower Body Strength -Not only will we be the fastest team on the field, we will also be the strongest! Our upper body strength will allow us to hold defenders off the ball and throw the ball in farther than ever. Our core strength will let us twist and turn with efficiency and confidence. And our rock-hard lower bodies will ensure that we can run, jump, and kick powerfully all game long without getting tired or hurt. Imagine how hard it’d be playing against a titanium robot with super-human strength… now think about playing against 11 of them!
The ‘THREE’ Tiered Approach
We recognize that we have athletes of all age groups. As a result, we need to train each age group a little differently to coordinate with their bodies’ development. While each age group will still cover all the different components of speed training, the focus and progressions of each will vary.
We’ve created a “tiered” approach to breakdown our game-plan for each age group:
Tier 1- Ages 8-10
-With the Tier 1 younger athletes, the focus will be more intensive on mechanics, coordination, and body control.
-While strength is still important for them, we will have them substitute Mechanics drills for Strength drills in the early stages until they demonstrate complete mastery of this concept.
-Additional time will be spent on footwork, balance, and coordination as their mechanics become more refined.
Tier 2- Ages 11-13
-Tier 2 athletes will focus on form and proper movement in the early stages and then concentrate on foot speed and athleticism as their mechanics become precise.
-Tier 2 will incorporate a heavier dose of “Lightning Feet” drills. This is safer than overtraining them on strength drills while they are becoming adolescents.
-Tier 2 will also always continue to keep a strong focus on refining mechanics.
-They will incorporate plyometrics and some strength drills, but not to the extent as Tier 3 will be.
Tier 3- Ages 14+
-The older athletes in Tier 3 will focus on pure athleticism, power, and explosiveness. -Tier 3 will incorporate more plyometrics and strength drills in place of mechanics (unless their mechanics still need refining). -Tier 3 will spend additional time with resistance (weighted) training to increase power. -They will have increased Lightning Feet drills, but will spend more time doing plyometrics
The Seasonal Approach
The most important part of our speed training program is how we plan to attack each specific part of the year. We’ve discussed in detail the high and low points of the schedule to ensure that the players are operating at peak levels when it matters most.
- Progression Times: During non-tournament times in the year, we will be training our athletes to progress their mechanics, strength, and conditioning. We will treat these times much like professional athletes treat their “offseason” times. We will be building them up to move more efficiently and become stronger each week. Training will continue to increase in difficulty each week leading up to our peak times in the year. Our goal is for our players to be at their strongest and best conditioning in the weeks leading up to “peak” times in the year.
- Peak Times: We want our athletes to be at their best during the most important times of the year:
July/August (Summer tournaments)
September (Start of League Season)
January/February (State/National Cup for Youngers)
April/May (State/National Cup for Olders)
During these “peak” periods, our objective is to fine-tune the players with pure foot-speed, agility, reaction, explosiveness, and acceleration/top-speed drills. More importantly, they will be in tip-top strength and conditioning shape from the “offseason” work so that they will be the 11 most dominant athletic specimens on the field!