Total Soccer Fitness and Training is dedicated to teaching 'The Beautiful Game' to players, coaches, parents, leagues, clubs, and teams.



Tactical Drills

The Tactical Phase in any practice session plan should include more than just a 2-team scrimmage. Here you will find games -- from small-sided (3v3, 5v5, etc.) to large group (6v3+3, etc.) -- and match-specific exercises to fit any tactical theme.

Technical Drills

As the saying goes, there are no tactics without techniques. Included here are drills that hone all the technical fundamentals -- juggling, dribbling, striking the ball/finishing, defending and goalkeeping. Also included are warmup drills to use at the beginning of each session.

Session Plans

Every training session should have a plan with a specific theme, be it technical, tactical or fitness. Here you will find session plans that emphasize such concepts as "Possession", "Striking the Ball", and "Speed of Play".

Speed, Agility, Quickness Drills

Speed, Agility and Quickness is a major part of all our sessions. In this section you will find drills that work all three concepts both with and without the soccer ball. Also included are warmup routines and a dynamic stretching routine.

“READY. SET. GO!”
One of the most important concepts taught at Total Soccer Fitness & Training is Proper Running Mechanics. In our individual and small group training sessions we time our players in various sprints, such as a 10-Yard Sprint and a 10x4 Shuttle. Our young soccer player is about to run a 10-yard sprint. Notice the following Proper Running Mechanics:

  • Heels are off the ground
  • A slight lean to the body
  • Right arm and left leg are back and ready to explode off the start
  • Left arm is in a good position – a 90-degree angle
  • Both hands are open and loose, not clenched in a fist

Published Articles

"Performance Conditioning" is an outstanding newsletter that has specific issues devoted to many sports, including, of course, soccer. TSFT Owner & Director Tom DeNigris, a former professional sports writer, has written several articles for the soccer edition. He highly recommends subscribing to the newsletter. View their website at www.performance conditioning.com.

Training Videos


"QUICK FEET" -- one of the many drills we use to teach quick feet is demonstrated here by one of our high school players. Watch how she high-steps quickly through the 14 hurdles.


Player Development vs. Winning

by Tom DeNigris 7. October 2008 07:17

The following is from the United States Soccer Federation's "Player Development Guidelines":

"US Soccer believes that first and foremost youth soccer is a sports that players should experience and enjoy as a game with a focus on individual experimentation and development. US Soccer encourages creating soccer environments that will help promote the players' lifelong love of the sport. These environments should allow for the creativity, spontaneity and experimentation that the game of soccer naturally encourages. Too often, children are put into situations where development is secondary to winning, which leads to burn out and stifles skill development."

Sounds good.

There are two words in there that when put together they become the meaning of youth soccer.

Player Development.

There are no two more important words in youth soccer. Player development should be first and foremost in the minds of all youth coaches, all youth teams, all youth clubs and all youth leagues.

Unfortunately, they are not. 

Winning has become more important than individual player skill development. Sure, winning is important. If it wasn't we wouldn't keep score in the games. US Soccer, along with other groups such the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and American Youth Soccer Association (AYSA), do well to point out the importance of teaching the fundaments at the early stages of soccer play.

Alas, in this country, winning takes precedence over teaching. Youth coaches are more concerned about their won-lost record. Everything is "team" centered rather than "player" centered.

"My advice to coaches of young players would be to work on perfecting technique, to focus on the continuing improvement of the individual player...With the younger kids you should leave tactics out of it completely. Young kids should be taught how to play in every area of the pitch, not taught to play a specific role."

This is from Marcello Lippi, coach of FIFA World Cup Champion Italy in the December 2006/January 2007 edition of SoccerCoaching International.

"When there is too much emphasis on the result there is a risk that coaches will overlook the work needed to develop the players' skills on an individual basis and focus entirely on coaching team units and the team as a whole...We have to communicate to the coaches the importance of developing individual technique...which would mean more work with the individual players and less work with the whole team. I am convinced that if you have 11 high-quality players the team will win on its own, without needing to spend hours learning about pressing and team tactics."

That comes from the head of the Internazionale de Milan (Italy) youth club in the October/November 2006 issue of SoccerCoaching International.

Holland has perhaps the world's best youth programs. Players under the age of 10 play small-sided soccer, generally 4v4. Wins and losses are not considered. Player development is.

In the United States, there is no one governing body to ensure that player development is taking place. You would think that the USSF would be the one ruling over youth soccer. But it does not. But offers the "Player Development Guidelines", which should be must reading for youth coaches and administrators.

It would be, at least, a good start.

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