One of the time-old conundrums of being a soccer fitness coach is how we maintain fitness for those who are not regularly playing 90 minutes. Unless you have coaches that you’ve created in a lab, it is likely they do not want to hold another training session post-match for the bench group that is long enough or intense enough to replicate a game.
Also, you can’t simply add fitness throughout the week in large quantities because, at some point, those bench players become starters and will have an even larger spike in volume. Some may prescribe them to do fitness on their “off day.” I don’t like this either because they will not have a true off day either physically or mentally for weeks on end.
Below I’ve outlined a few considerations to think of when you are developing your post-match protocol and spell out more directly what I do.
High Intensity Distance: Challenge as many systems as possible and have them do the work that will get them the biggest combination of neurological and muscular fatigue.
Heart Rate Exertion: Get their heart rate up in zones that they will experience in matches. Even if it’s for only a bit of time, getting their HR to a high level will be crucial so that when they are called on, they are not shocked and in the red zone five minutes into the match.
Accelerations/Decelerations: In order to get even close to what the group in the match is experiencing, you’ll have to integrate this during the warmup during in the second half. The acceleration piece is done often but I think high intensity decelerations are often overlooked. Getting the group cutting and absorbing force quickly and effectively during the warmup and during post-match fitness is huge.
With all that being said, let’s look at the timeline of typical match and how you can better maintain fitness for these bench players throughout the course of the game . In the 22nd minute of every match, I like to get the bench group up and moving around for a few minutes. It breaks up the first half – and if someone is suddenly subbed in at the 40th minute and they have to go into a 60m sprint right away, at least they weren’t literally sitting for 40-60 minutes prior to be getting thrown in (including time in the locker room, national anthem, etc.). Drills to open their hips, disassociated right from left, and adding a short burst here and there are my typical strategies for this three-five-minute segment.
Once the second half begins, we begin warming up. It’s not rocket science. Dynamic movements and mobility blocks are mixed in. However, including longer runs where they build up in speed to higher thresholds across larger spaces become important as the warmup progresses. Also, incorporating sudden decelerations by stopping quickly at the end of movements should be incorporated consistently. By the time the second half is complete, everyone in that group should see accel/decel numbers that are roughly 50% of what the field players have experienced. They should have also accumulated between 150 to 200m of High Intensity Distance.
Now, depending on positional groups and in-match averages we may have per person, we divvy up the number of box-to-box runs. It’ll likely range from 6-10 for field players with two of those being at faster speeds or their “sprint threshold.” Giving them a short, timed recovery between runs (roughly 15-20 seconds) ensures a bit of a heart rate response. For runs that are not in the sprint threshold, the athletes will decelerate quickly at the end of each run. Going from 70-75% of their max speed to a stop within 5-10m will continue to build those decelerations we started accumulating during the second half.
Below I’ve included a screenshot of a report comparing two athletes. Athlete 1 is a young player who plays sparingly and is therefore on the bench most often. Athlete 2 is a starter who is still building his fitness but who is playing 90 minutes every week for our team. As discussed previously, total volume on match day will be challenging to achieve so Player Load and Acceleration Load for Athlete 1 are about 60% of what Athlete 2 attained in the match. He was also able to achieve 50-60% of the number of accels/decels, a higher volume of High Intensity Distance, and a higher volume of Sprint Distance. It is an over-preparation for this player but because he is young and his max speed is lower, we are utilizing the opportunity to build volume and work on tapping into those higher thresholds more often.
It’s also important to note that on the graph marked “Cumulative Individual Loading (last 7 days),” we can see that in the area of Player Load and Accel Load, both athletes are remarkably similar. So even though the same volumes were not achieved on match day, small doses of extra work throughout the week, amount to equal loading over the grand-scheme of things. This does not always happen so nicely because of team considerations, schedules, training plans, etc. but when it does, it’s a big win.
Now, the above strategy will obviously overload their system to a greater degree on match day in some metrics than those that played the match. If we can do so in a controlled environment though, and be consistent week to week, why wouldn’t we use this opportunity? Where we lack in total distance/total player load acutely, we try and make up for by being neurologically and muscularly more prepared. Will our weekly volumes be that of a starter in all metrics? Likely not all the time. But can we get damn close without throwing off training rhythms, schedules, and rest days? That’s the plan.
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