Examples of soccer training by age group

Did you know that training accounts for at least 50% of a footballer's daily practice, whether amateur or professional? To make constant progress, it's essential not to neglect this crucial aspect.

But how can we ensure that training is adapted to the right age group?

Each stage in a player's development requires specific methods: younger players need to focus on technique and enjoyment of the game, while older players work on tactics, physical fitness and mental fitness. Well-tuned training maximizes progress, prevents injury and maintains motivation.

A solid structure within the club, with supervision adapted to each age group, is essential to enable players to flourish. Good infrastructure and equipment complete this framework, offering the best conditions for effective training.
From motor skills training to senior soccer training with a ball.

Investing in the right structure and training guarantees continuous progress and harmonious development for our players.

It's essential to adapt your training style to the age group you're working with.

We've put together a guide to soccer training tips for players of all ages, from U5 to professional, with 5 essential products to help you achieve this. Our teams of experts in field equipment innovation are well aware of this, and have designed a wide range of sports products as varied as they are innovative, to help you progress, and above all at extremely attractive prices.

Soccer training for young children (U5 and U7)

The U5 and U7 categories are young players just starting out in soccer. At this age, it's all about discovering the sport, the rules, coaches and teammates. The emphasis is on fun and play, as children need to assimilate many things at once. It's also the time when their psychomotor skills develop most rapidly. The importance of learning at an early age cannot be underestimated: the basics acquired at this stage will lay the foundations for their future progress.

As a trainer, you'll need to :

focus on play: lots of matches and ball games to give young players space, and they need to touch as many balls as possible to familiarize themselves with soccer training.

start building a solid technical foundation in the first 3/4 years, by teaching them the classic control-pass. If possible, incorporate the following into every foota new rule of the sport to assimilate, so that children learn progressively.

And last but not least, through fun games and soccer drills, mini-competitions with slaloms, runs, jumps, dribbles and physical exercises with the ball to develop their motor skills and coordination.

5 must-have items for your soccer club

• GoalsQuickfire 2.4 x 1.5m and3 x 2m to accommodate match series
• Theprecision hoops for learning the basics of accurate passing.
• Poles and cones, markings on the ground so that children can quickly understand how to evolve in a defined space.
• Theball trolleyto relieve the coach and, above all, to establish rules for tidying up at the end of the session. Yes, because sport is also the school of life.
• Theset of 5 foam hurdles to improve coordination while being 100% safe for children.

Soccer training for young children U8 and U12

In the U8 and U12 categories, the coach can slowly begin to instill competitive values. As the youngsters also begin to develop a more competitive spirit, the coach will start to evoke tactical aspects of the game, and the placement and movement of players on the pitch through short games.

The coach will also begin to use more specific training equipment, and the aim will be to improve the physical condition of the young players through intermittent endurance and aerobic exercises.
These soccer drills enable the following qualities to be worked on, among others:

• balance
• speed
• endurance
• relaxation
• coordination.

And last but not least, we'll also be doing increasingly advanced soccer exercises in terms of technique, to develop all the skills needed to continue progressing, such as: physical exercises with the ball, ball control and kick-off exercises, and shooting exercises.

Training is all the more effective when the coach accompanies and advises his players during the various exercises.

Top 5 best Netsportique products for these categories:

• Thetraining kit training kit
• The soccer goalPowershot modular 4 x 1.5m
• Theprecision shooting wall to improve your aiming skills
• Thestopwatch for the first endurance and speed soccer drills
• The octagonal rhythm scaleperfect for perfecting coordination

Soccer training for teenagers (U13 and U17)

The U13 category marks a real turning point in a young footballer's sporting career. Up to U17 is certainly the time when progress is most rapid. Not least because the physical changes brought about by adolescence enable players to see further ahead in their quest for progression. It's also the time when you're acquiring the most technique: at this age, you're capable of retaining and assimilating a large number of elements, and nerve and neuronal connections are made rapidly.

The coach needs to adapt his strategy to the team's strengths, by setting up tactical sessions focusing on positioning, decision-making and repeating patterns of play. This helps players to develop a deeper understanding of the game and to react effectively during matches.

The coach will need to adapt and adopt a game strategy based on the major characteristics of his squad:

If he has predominantly attacking players, who make the ball live, he will undoubtedly have to adopt an offensive strategy.

On the other hand, if he has a majority of players who know how to defend, he'll need to adopt a defensive strategy. All the while opting for the best strategy according to the opponent they'll be facing.

This is also the time to introduce body-weight exercises, such as squats and lunges, to strengthen muscles and prepare young players for the intensity of soccer. Plyometric and coordination exercises also improve power and agility, while respecting the growth of the players.

A well-balanced program alternates between tactical training, technical soccer drills and physical exercises, providing young footballers with complete mental and physical development.

The 5 essential sports equipment for this category:

• Themagnetic tactical board to transmit clear tactics to your players
• Thesoccer size 5 perfect for competition and matches
• Frommedicine balls for body sculpting and endurance training
• 8m agility ladder to become a coordination whiz
• Themini rebound net to perfect your reactivity and ball-control technique.

Pro soccer training for Adults (18+ years)

First and foremost, it's important to remember that professionals train every day, sometimes even twice a day. So it's easy to see how important it is to have top-quality sports equipment. Professional footballers progress through repetition of gestures and actions, so they need sports equipment that lasts over time.

Once a professional footballer has passed the age of 23, he or she will no longer progress in terms of technical psycho-motricity. But where the coach's role comes into its own is that you can always help your players progress tactically and mentally. The role of doctors in injury prevention, of assistants and staff in the preparation of training sessions, and of the mental coach in match preparation, is ultra-important!

The difference can also be made when it comes to physical fitness. Every professional player needs to bein impeccable physical shape, which means spending hours in the gym and paying particular attention to diet and rest.
Don't forget to include soccer exercise in your routine

For example, a fitness routine for footballers can include physical exercises such as squats, lunges, cone sprints, plyometric exercises, and sessions to work on muscular power and endurance.

Here's a sample weekly training schedule for pro soccer training:

• Monday :

Morning: Field training (technical and tactical soccer drills)

Afternoon: Strength training (lower body exercises) + stretching

• Tuesday :

Morning: Field training (team games and simulated matches)

Afternoon: Active recovery session (swimming or light cycling)

• Wednesday:

Morning: Field training (speed and agility exercises)

Afternoon: Weight training (upper-body exercises) + explosiveness training

• Thursday:

Morning: Field training (physical exercise soccer with ball)

Afternoon: Physiotherapy and injury prevention session

• Friday:

Morning: Field training (match preparation, strategy)

Afternoon: Recovery session (massage, stretching)

• Saturday:

Match or match simulation

• Sunday:

Rest or active recovery (light walking, stretching)

In short, the success of a professional footballer depends on a complex combination of training, physical and mental preparation, as well as multidimensional support.

The 5 Netsportique sports equipment products developed for professional footballers:

• Theoutdoor training kit particularly for working on defenders' dry rebound
• Thetransportable 11-a-side soccer goal so you can move your training goal anywhere, anytime
• The4-sided rebound net to work on reactivity and ball control
• Ourball launchers to be the most skilful in front of goal!
• Thekit of 3 professional dummies to become the best free-kick taker

Summary of key soccer training points by age group

• Regardless of the age group you want to train, it's important to individualize physical workloads as much as possible, because everyone has different needs. That's why you need to draw up a clear plan at the start of the season, with groups of different levels to work on the physical aspect.

As for the technical aspect, it's a clever mix of keeping the ball in tight spaces, tactics, long games, aerial play, soccer drills in front of goal and, above all, adapting the drills to the different positions, as each player needs more or less specific qualities depending on the position he occupies on the pitch.

Thanks to their experience and knowledge, the Netsportique teams are able to supply sports equipment for all levels of practice, at unbeatable prices.