RUNNING IN SOCCER-MERELY LOCOMOTION OR SOMETHING MORE?
Why do coaches have players run? There are generally three reasons most coaches have players do running exercises. They are for punishment, warm-up and fitness. Examining each of these three reasons punishment is the most erroneous.
Frequently coaches use running as a punishment for misbehavior during a training session. Some coaches have even used running as a punishment for an entire team at the end of a match if the team did not meet the coach’s expectations of performance. For the individual and the team using running as a punishment hurts team moral more than it solves any behavior problem. First of all soccer is a game that requires a lot of running. You have to like running to play the game. Why give something so integral to the sport a negative connotation both mentally and emotionally for the players? This is just the opposite of what the coach should be trying to achieve in developing a team. If punishment is needed for misbehavior then there are many other options the coach could use other than running as punishment. Soccer coaches should never use running as a punishment!
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SAM SNOW Director of Coaching for US Youth Soccer U. S. Soccer National Staff Instructor. Posted with Permission from USYOUTHSOCCER.ORG
